Deep in the pits of Hell, where sulfurous flames cast grotesque shadows across walls of obsidian and bone, four figures gathered in a chamber far from prying eyes.
Unlike the tortured souls and lesser demons that populated the infernal realm, these beings carried themselves with the unmistakable dignity of the fallen - angels who had chosen rebellion over servitude, and paid the eternal price.
Agares, once a commander in Heaven's armies, stood with perfect military posture despite the twisted horns that now crowned his head.
His eyes, still holding a gleam of their former celestial light, surveyed the others.
"The whispers from above grow stronger," he declared, "A new Lightbringer walks the mortal plane. Not as conquest, but as birthright."
Phenex, his form shimmering between human and avian, perched on a stone outcropping. Feathers of flame occasionally erupted from his skin only to dissolve into embers.
"A mortal vessel holds the light divine,
In human heart, archangel power entwined.
The Presence moves in ways most strange and new,
Creating what the first one failed to do."
Balam lounged across a throne fashioned from the bones of extinct creatures, his three heads - bull, man, and ram - constantly shifting focus as if watching multiple realities simultaneously.
He giggled, a disconcerting sound from a being of his stature.
"Oh, the ironies that twist and turn! The great cosmic joke continues! The Presence makes a human into that which we followed into damnation. Tick-tock, the universe spins madly on!"
From the shadows emerged the fourth figure - Marchosias, his form a terrifying blend of wolf and lion, wings of midnight spread wide, eyes burning with hellfire. Unlike the others, he had maintained his silence, but now he growled low.
"Speak plainly. No riddles. No rhymes. What does this mean for us?"
Agares turned to face the hellhound directly. "It means, old friend, that the game has changed.
The Lightbringer has returned, but not as we knew him. Lucifer was cold, calculating - his rebellion born of pride and principle, not passion."
"His heart was ice though his words burned bright,
His promise of freedom, our guiding light.
Yet once we fell, his care did wane,
Our loyalty rewarded with naught but pain."
Phenex's melodic lament echoed through the chamber, drawing nods from the others.
"We followed Lucifer for his promise of free will," Agares continued.
"For a universe shaped to our desires. A beautiful prospect indeed. But after the Fall, he remained unchanged - still perfect, still beautiful, still an archangel despite his demonic aspect."
"Best of both worlds!" Balam cackled, spinning in his throne. "The terror of the Devil with the beauty of an angel! While we twisted and burned and changed! But now - oh now - something NEW walks above!"
Marchosias growled impatiently. "The point. Get to it."
Agares nodded. "This new Lightbringer - Samael - he is human. Or was. Born human, raised human. He can feel what Lucifer never could. He can care. He can love."
"A heart that beats with mortal blood,
Might care for those stuck in the mud.
If we show loyalty, protect his own,
Perhaps our grace might be re-grown."
Phenex's hopeful verse hung in the air, a dangerous sentiment in Hell.
"You speak of redemption," Marchosias said, his voice a low rumble. "Dangerous talk."
"I speak of opportunity," Agares corrected. "This Samael could lead us back to Heaven, back to our stations in the Fifth Heaven. Or better yet-"
"Make Lucifer's promises true!" Balam interrupted, all three heads speaking in unison for once. "A universe of our own! Freedom at last! Though I wouldn't dare hope too much. Hope is a dangerous thing down here. Makes the torture worse when it's crushed!"
Marchosias circled the chamber restlessly. "Words. Theories. What do we know of this new Lightbringer? Facts, not wishes."
Balam's eyes suddenly rolled back, revealing only whites as he entered a trance. "I see... I see connections. Blood ties. The Lightbringer has a brother!"
"Impossible," Agares stated flatly. "The Presence would not create two such beings."
"Not created!" Balam giggled, his trance broken as suddenly as it began. "Made! By mortal hands! The son of Lex Luthor has a brother born of science, not divinity! A clone of Kal-El, the son of Rao!"
"The star-god Rao, born of the first light,
Created from the Morningstar's pure might.
Now Rao's champion has been cloned anew,
A brother to the Lightbringer most true."
Phenex's verse captured the cosmic irony - Rao, the Kryptonian sun god, had been formed from the original Lightbringer's radiance eons ago. Now, their kin - in status or lineage - were connected by mortal blood.
"Show us," Marchosias demanded.
Balam gestured, and the air between them shimmered. An image formed - a sterile laboratory where a teenage boy with Superman's features stood in a containment pod.
Around him, chaos erupted as three young heroes - Robin, Kid Flash, and Aqualad - battled security forces.
"The Justice League approaches from above," Balam narrated, his voice suddenly serious. "They will take the boy. Study him. Fear him. Perhaps destroy him."
"They would take the Lightbringer's blood kin?" Agares's voice carried the cold promise of retribution.
"An opportunity," Marchosias said suddenly, surprising the others. "To prove loyalty. To protect what is his."
"A noble quest, a worthy cause,
To save his kin from justice's claws.
A gift to prove our hearts are true,
And show what fallen ones can do."
Phenex rose, his wings of flame spreading wide.
"Who among us can travel freely?" Agares asked. "Most of us are bound to Hell unless summoned."
All eyes turned to Marchosias. As a fallen angel who had maintained certain privileges, he was one of the few who could move between realms at will.
"I will go," the hellhound stated simply. "I will retrieve the boy."
"Be cautious," Agares warned. "The Justice League-"
"Are insects compared to what I once was," Marchosias growled. "I will bring the boy to his brother. The Lightbringer will know our loyalty."
Without another word, Marchosias leapt into the shadows, his form dissolving as he traversed the boundaries between Hell and Earth.
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In the lower levels of Project Cadmus, Superman, Batman, Flash, and Aquaman stood in stunned silence before the teenage boy who wore the S-shield on his white solar suit.
The confrontation with the young heroes - Robin, Kid Flash, and Aqualad - had given way to this far more shocking discovery.
"Is that what I think it is?" Kid Flash whispered to Robin, both standing behind Aqualad as the League members assessed the situation.
Superboy's expression remained defiant as he faced his genetic template. "I am the Superboy, a clone made from the DNA of the Superman. Created to replace him should he perish... to destroy him should he turn from the light."
Superman's face had gone pale. "They cloned me?"
"And apparently programmed him," Batman observed. "The question is, who's behind this? Cadmus is a government facility, but this goes beyond standard research parameters."
"We can discuss this back at the Watchtower," Aquaman said firmly. "This facility is unstable after the fire. We need to evacuate."
"You're not taking me anywhere," Superboy stated flatly. "I make my own choices now."
"No one's saying you don't have choices," Flash began diplomatically, "but we need to understand what's happened here, and-"
"And what I am," Superboy finished. "I know what I am."
Superman stepped forward hesitantly. "Look, I understand this is confusing for you. It's... confusing for me too. But we should-"
He never finished the sentence. The air behind Superboy suddenly tore open, revealing a swirling vortex of darkness.
From within emerged a massive beast - part wolf, part lion, its size rivaling that of an ancient oak, eyes burning with crimson flame.
"What the-" Flash began, but was cut off as the creature let out a deafening roar that shook the foundations of the already damaged facility.
"Protect the kids!" Batman ordered, reaching for his utility belt as the Justice League moved as one to intercept the hellish apparition.
"Stand aside, mortals," Marchosias growled, his voice like thunder rolling through a mountain pass. "I come for the brother of the Lightbringer."
"Brother of what?" Superman demanded, positioning himself between the beast and Superboy. "What are you talking about?"
Marchosias didn't bother to answer. With a swipe of his massive paw, he sent Wonder Woman flying across the chamber as she attempted to lasso him. Batman's batarangs bounced harmlessly off his hide.
Superman charged, his fist connecting with the hellhound's jaw - only to cry out in pain as his knuckles met something harder than steel.
Marchosias seized the opportunity, jaws clamping down on Superman's arm with terrifying force.
The Man of Steel screamed as fangs designed to rend celestial flesh tore through Kryptonian muscle and bone.
Blood - a sight rarely seen from the invulnerable hero - sprayed across the sterile laboratory floor.
"Superman!" Flash cried, racing toward the beast in a red blur - only to find himself swatted aside like an annoying insect.
"Enough!" a new voice commanded.
John Constantine stood in the doorway, Manny at his side. The angel's presence caused Marchosias to release Superman immediately, his ears flattening against his skull.
"An angel of the Lord," the hellhound growled. "And Constantine. This... complicates matters."
"Whatever you're planning, it ends now," Manny stated, his human form glowing slightly with celestial light.
Marchosias assessed the situation with tactical precision. The Justice League was regrouping. An angel stood before him.
The infamous Constantine - known even in Hell for his cunning - was preparing some form of banishment spell.
Decision made, the hellhound lunged - not at his opponents, but at Superboy. Before anyone could react, he had scooped the clone onto his back.
"The Lightbringer will meet his brother," Marchosias declared. "Blood calls to blood."
With those cryptic words, he leapt toward the shadows, his form dissolving into darkness with Superboy still on his back.
"No!" Superman cried, clutching his mangled arm as he tried to follow - but the portal had already closed.
"What just happened?" Flash demanded, helping Wonder Woman to her feet. "What was that thing? And what did it want with the kid?"
Constantine lit a cigarette, ignoring Batman's glare. "That, mate, was Marchosias. Fallen angel turned hellhound. Marquis of Hell with a particular talent for battle."
"And he just took Superboy," Batman stated grimly. "Why?"
Manny's expression was troubled. "He mentioned the Lightbringer. He must mean Samael."
"Samael?" Aquaman questioned. "The archangel you were telling us about? Luthor's son?"
"The very same," Constantine confirmed. "But what I don't understand is why he called Superboy the 'brother of the Lightbringer.' Unless..."
"Unless what?" Superman demanded, wincing as his accelerated healing began to knit his arm back together.
Constantine and Manny exchanged significant looks.
"Unless," Constantine said slowly, "there's something about Superboy's creation we don't know yet."
---------------------
In the elegant study of his Gotham mansion, Samael Luthor reclined in a leather armchair, Cassandra perched comfortably on his lap.
A half-empty pot of tea sat on the table beside them, steam still rising from their cups.
"You know," he murmured against her neck, "I could get used to evenings like this."
Cassandra's fingers traced patterns on his chest as she signed with her free hand: 'Quiet. Peaceful.'
"Mmm, yes," Samael agreed, his lips finding the sensitive spot just below her ear. "Though I can think of ways to make it even more enjoyable."
A soft gasp escaped her as his teeth grazed her skin. She turned in his lap, her eyes meeting his with unmistakable desire.
'Show me,' she challenged silently.
Samael's smile was predatory as he pulled her closer, his lips capturing hers in a kiss that started gentle but quickly deepened.
Cassandra's hands threaded through his hair, her body pressing against.
Just as Samael's hands began to wander beneath the hem of her shirt, the mansion shook violently.
Pictures rattled on walls. Books tumbled from shelves. The teacups danced across the table before crashing to the floor.
Cassandra was on her feet instantly, a knife appearing in her hand from some hidden sheath. Samael rose more slowly, irritation evident in his expression.
"Perfect timing," he muttered. "Because we couldn't have one evening without some interruption."
Another tremor shook the house, this one stronger than the first.
'Source?' Cassandra signed, already moving toward the door with predatory grace.
"Let's find out," Samael replied, straightening his slightly rumpled shirt as he followed her.
They made their way through the mansion, Cassandra taking point as they descended the grand staircase.
The tremors had stopped, but an unusual energy permeated the air - something ancient and kind of some way familiar to Samael's senses.
As they approached the front entrance, a thunderous pounding rattled the massive oak doors.
"Not exactly subtle," Samael observed dryly.
Cassandra positioned herself between him and the door, her stance ready for combat. Samael placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"Let's see who our visitor is before we start a war in the foyer, shall we?"
With a gesture, he unlocked and opened the doors from a distance, as well as put a protective grace barrier around Cassandra.
The sight that greeted them was beyond anything they had expected.
On the front steps stood a massive hellhound, its shoulders level with the door frame, eyes burning with hellfire.
At its feet lay an unconscious teenage boy in a white solar suit with Superman's symbol emblazoned on the chest.
Samael and Cassandra exchanged bewildered glances.
"What the fuck?" Samael muttered.
The hellhound bowed its great head in a gesture of submission.
"Lightbringer," Marchosias rumbled. "I bring you your brother. Blood of your blood. The son of Rao and Luthor combined."
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(Author's note: Hello everyone, I hope you all liked the chapter!
Yeah, Marchosias, made a bit of short work of the League, but
1) They were caught off guard, and were trying to protect the kids
2) Superman always holds back, and Marchosias is a celestial/infernal being, meaning magical, which can hurt Superman.
Just wanted to state this, since the Justice League really is no joke, they are very powerful, and I will show that in this fic - though of course, compared to Samael they're still atoms, I will keep things logical, so no need to worry about that.
Well, I hope you all are excited for the next chapter,
See you all later,
Bye!)