Decline and Fall

“Three, Commander,” the politician said, nervously wiping a bead of golden sweat from her brow. “Three stellar periods. Ninety sunrises, ninety sunsets. That is the length of time it took ten thousand of your warriors to conquer this planet, my homeworld - Glular IV.”

“Indeed so, Councilor,” the Diasporan Commander replied. “And the invaders – two in number – have us on the verge of capitulation after three solar cycles.”

“How is this possible,” the Glulari blurted in shock. “There are only two of them!”

“The answer is one of grim reality, Councilor,” the Diasporan replied. “They are… Worldkillers.”

“The Worldkillers are a Kryptonian myth! A fable told to brainwash the young into behaving properly,” the Councilor exclaimed. “You cannot be serious, Commander!”

“But I am,” the warrior said dryly. “Utterly serious. The myths you speak of are the Worldkillers known as Deimax and Flower of Heaven. Engineered to be living engines of conquest by scientists long ago, abandoned to death before the destruction of Krypton. Somehow, they survived… and now two of them are annihilating my warriors and your planetary defense forces. Systematically… ruthlessly… and rather effectively.”

“How is it you know so much about these creatures, Commander? These… Worldkillers?”

Before the politician could continue her inquiry, the ground shook beneath her feet. Another quake – courtesy of Deimax. She had been moving through the planetary capital city of Glularus, using her vast strength to tunnel beneath key infrastructure sites… and levelling them through terrestrial upheaval and destruction.

“And so it goes. Our primary Command and Control station in the northern city… destroyed,” the reptilian warrior said. “It will not be long now, Councilor. What little resistance we were able to muster against the Worldkillers will soon crumble to dust, much like the Command and Control station just did.”

He walked over to peer over the city, seeing a large, dark cloud of smoke, dust, and debris rising to the north.

“How do I know of the Worldkillers? Simple… one of them was our ruler. Or rather, one of them possessed and controlled our ruler, before his defeat at the hands of a survivor of Krypton.”

“Possessed? As if by an infernal entity? A… demon?! Commander, you do not strike me as a being that believes in the supernatural, yet here we are talking about mythic conquerors and leaders possessed by some sort of alien monster, all as calmly as one might discuss the planetary weather report,” the Councilor said, shaking her head in disbelief. “And who shall come to vex us next – ghosts and goblins?”

“Spare me your histrionics,” the Diasporan said in response. “Everything I told you is a matter of historical fact for my people. Once we were ruled by a cunning, powerful being. It could inhabit the bodies of living things and bend them to its will. However, this possession came at a terrible cost. Every moment the Worldkiller spent within the body of another consumed that body, like a wasting plague, until the life force within the occupied being was utterly consumed. The stronger the being, the longer the Worldkiller could occupy them safely. Our leader was the strongest of us all, but even his might could not survive the blight that was… Worldkiller-1.”

“But the two creatures attacking us now… they do not possess anyone! One destroys the very ground we walk upon, and the other systematically disrupted the entire planetary data grid!”

“Each Worldkiller was designed to fulfill a tactical objective,” the warrior replied. “Deimax, as you might guess, was created for Mass Terrain Destruction. Her “sister,” Flower of Heaven, specializes in the overloading of Planetary Systems. Energy, data, communications, and the like. And, as you can see, Councilor, they are both very efficient in their fields of practice on the battlefield.”

“Nothing is invincible, Commander! Not even these aliens can withstand the power of our strongest weapons… even though using them may cause irreparable damage to the planet,” the politician said.

“According to the myths you spoke of earlier, only a Worldkiller can defeat a Worldkiller,” the Diasporan said. “That is… not entirely correct. They were defeated by a Kryptonian in the Sol system. There, this warrior is called… Supergirl. Had we the ability, I would suggest you open a dialogue with the inhabitants of that system, and the Kryptonian herself. Unfortunately, the Worldkillers have destroyed the planetary communications system. We can’t talk from city to city now, let alone conduct interstellar communication.”

“Then we will unleash our final defense on the Worldkillers,” the politician said, grimly. “We will destroy them!”

“No, Councilor, you will not,” the Commander said. “Even if you had the courage to do so, you lack the capability to launch those weapons at the enemy… for the enemy controls them now, thanks to Flower of Heaven. Consider yourself fortunate that she did not turn your arsenal upon you… though, if you test her patience, she may well detonate one to teach you a terrible lesson.”

“What are we to do then, Commander?”

“We will wait, Councilor. Wait until they issue the terms for our complete and total surrender. Soon, every surviving Diasporan and Glulari will be under the control of the Worldkillers… every living soul on this planet. Our new rulers will not let us sit idle, either. There are many more worlds to conquer, and conquest is one of their reasons for existence. We will be their vanguard once again.”

A nearby console flashed, indicating an incoming comm-signal.

“I suggest you take that call, Councilor. Our new planetary overlords do not like to be kept waiting.”