Welcome to the 2022 April A to Z Challenge! Each day (minus Sundays) in the month of April will feature a short work of fiction based on a random word beginning with the corresponding letter of the day. Those random words will be provided by various friends and family members throughout the month. Today’s word, yeet, was provided by my friend, Jeff. Each story is loosely connected to the one before but will make more sense if you read them all in order. To go back to the beginning to see where this madness began, click here…

San Francisco

At the center of the Golden Gate Bridge, a distortion appeared to shimmer in the air. The distortion transformed into a bright light that caused several cars to swerve and lose control. Traffic came to a standstill as a gust of wind blew across the bay and a sonic boom shattered windows for a half mile.

The Boom Tube opened and a horde of Darkseid’s Parademons spilled out, like a destructive swarm of locusts. They shot at any of the poor individuals who had been curious enough to get out of their cars. Some even picked up occupied vehicles and tossed them into the bay.

Washington, D.C.

It was midday and there were hundreds of people walking in and around the Lincoln Memorial. A handful of tourists noticed a shimmer in the air, just above the seated Abraham Lincoln.

A 15-year-old girl on a class trip went live on Tiktok, recording the incident with her phone, thinking that this would finally be the thing that made her go viral. “OMG, you guys! Lincoln’s ghost is totally hanging out in the memorial!” She continued recording as the shimmer became a blinding light and opened up into a Boom Tube that shattered the presidential statue.

Fear overtook the teenage girl as she ran away from the emerging Parademons. She screamed, but somehow continued recording events as they unfolded. Cowering in a corner, she narrated as she watched these alien creatures attacking people at random. “Oh, God, that thing just yeeted some old dude off the steps!”

Suddenly, a Parademon turned in her direction and slowly stalked toward her. Its eyes glowed and it shouted in a language that the girl couldn’t possibly recognize. “No! No no no n…” The last thing her online audience saw was a close up of that winged monster’s horrifying face.

Metropolis

The Joker approached Superman’s memorial statue at the center of Centennial Park. People in attendance at the park certainly recognized the Clown Prince of Crime and quickly, quietly moved away from him. In his hands, the Joker held the Mother Box that he had retrieved from Toyman’s abandoned toy factory. He had no idea how to activate the device, but he had continually watched it to see if it would randomly come to life on its own. After all, he had been told once that a Mother Box was a living computer.

“You have no idea what you have there,” said a familiar voice.

Without turning, the Joker responded, “Lex, is that you?”

“Give me the Mother Box, Joker.”

“But I only just picked it up the other day. I haven’t even had a chance to wear out that new Mother Box smell,” said the Joker with a laugh.

Lex Luthor hated the Joker. They had joined forces in the past and Luthor had seen the clown as a means to an end. But the Joker was too chaotic. Sure, he could strategize and make plans, but most of the time he’d just as soon shoot a victim in the face for not laughing at his lame jokes.

“Joker, you don’t know what that device is capable of.”

The Joker finally turned to face Luthor. “You’re right, I don’t know all it’s capable of. But I do know it can open portals to other places… other dimensions. How am I doin’ so far?”

Luthor turned to G. Gordon Godfrey, who had just stepped up beside him. It was the TV personality’s turn to address the clown. “That Mother Box is meant to usher in Darkseid’s invasion force. You need to hand it over to us. It will activate soon.”

The device in Joker’s hands began to make a pinging sound. “Like this?”

Without another word, the Joker turned and launched the Mother Box at the Superman statue. A Boom Tube ripped through the air and another legion of Parademons descended upon the Earth. The Joker let his signature laugh echo through the park. Luthor’s face was stricken with panic. Godfrey merely smiled as Darkseid’s plans finally came to fruition.

Then Darkseid himself emerged from the Boom Tube. Larger than life, the Apokoliptan despot crushed the Superman statue with one swing of his mighty fist.

The invasion had begun.

These characters are not my own. Darkseid, Lex Luthor, the Joker, and all related characters are the property of DC Comics. This is a work of fan fiction and is just for fun. Please don’t sue me.

Feature Photo by Umer Sayyam on Unsplash