A YJA Moment - Apokalips Now

 From the Collector, Kentauride had traded the reconstituted First Ring of the Green Lanterns for the ultra-rare element Radion.  This substance was poisonous to New Gods and was practically the only way to kill them.  Kentauride constructed a weapon with the Radion, knowing that because of Thanos' Eternal heritage, the element would just render him, largely mortal.  This left him helpless to deal with Kentauride's next attack which beheaded him.

The death of Thanos once again earned the attention of the Lord of Apokolips Darkseid.  Opening a Boom Tube, he walked down to confront the instruments of his son's fall. The Mythic Avengers.  He gazed upon his dead offspring with contempt and congratulated Kentauride on her victory.  He then but proclaimed there will be a price to be paid.  With a wave of his hand, Boom Tubes opened across all of Known Space and the armies of Apokalips swamped out for war.  Though Oa and  Xandar were among the worlds invaded, it was clear that those incursions were designed to keep them occupied.  The greatest focus of the forces of Apokalips was the Mythic Avengers homeworld of Earth.

Steppenwolf and his armies focused their attention on North America, where the highest concentration of metahumans existed.  A Hell-Seed into the American Mid-West, creating a Fire-Pit that nearly obliterated the State of Nebraska and caused cataclysmic damage to Colorado, South Dakota, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and  Wyoming.  The toxic fumes flooded the skies, blocking out the sun and causing ground-poisoning acid rain.

The combined force of Earth, including the various Avengers and Justice League teams, battled the Hunger Dogs, Parademons, and members of the Darkseid Elite.  Though the battle was seemingly insurmountable, the united heroes were eventually able to force a retreat. With the sacrifice of many individuals, both human and metahuman, the day was won. 

As the Parademons were fleeing, the horrible cost of the Battle for Terra was revealed.  The ecosystem of the Earth was destroyed, with the terrible storms of acid rain continuing the poison the ground.  Over a billion people died in the initial invasion, with almost two billion in danger of dying because of homeless, starvation, and/or the environment.  Many heroes had perished, to the point that Earth might not be able to survive another assault.

As the Mythic Avengers contemplated their next move, they were joined by forces from the Green Lantern and Nova Corp, who worked to help stabilize the situation.  S.H.I.E.L.D. and the United Nations, along with reluctant support from the United States of America negotiated a deal with the Xandaran Senate to have Earth temporarily declared a protectorate of the Nova Empire until the world can be reconstructed.