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*****
Inside the Batcave, the core members of the Justice League sat gathered around the conference table once more.
"That's the gist of it. Apokolips is invading Earth primarily to secure the Anti-Life Equation hidden here..."
George methodically recounted every detail of the intelligence he had extracted from Steppenwolf.
"According to Steppenwolf, even without the Mother Boxes to open a direct portal, his arrival has allowed Apokolips to recalibrate Earth's cosmic coordinates. Based on the velocity of their warships, Darkseid will arrive with his legion of Parademons in less than three years."
Silence fell over the room.
A single Steppenwolf was manageable. But the full weight of the Apokoliptian military—a force that had already subjugated fifty thousand worlds—was a different story entirely. Earth could not survive a war of that magnitude.
The option of handing over the Anti-Life Equation to appease Darkseid was off the table. Once Darkseid possessed the Equation, he would enslave the will of the entire universe, Earth included. The end result would be exactly the same.
"We need to find a way to keep the battlefield away from Earth," Batman said eventually, breaking the tension.
"Away from Earth? You mean in deep space?" The Flash interjected, looking skeptical. "We don't have a fleet capable of fighting a cosmic war. If we fight them in space, we lose our home-field advantage. Even if we had ships, we'd be outnumbered. One concentrated volley and we're toast. Not everyone here is Superman; most of us can't even breathe out there."
Green Arrow and several other street-level heroes nodded in agreement.
"Maybe I could ask the Green Lantern Corps for assistance," Hal Jordan suggested, raising his hand. "Their technology is top-tier, and as the universe's police force, they have a duty to stop Darkseid from annexing more sectors."
"They won't help," Wonder Woman countered. "Darkseid has conquered fifty thousand planets, and the Corps didn't stop him. That tells me they know they aren't his match. If you ask for help, they'll likely tell you to practice 'patience' and endure the occupation."
Hal wanted to argue, but he realized she was likely right. When Parallax attacked Earth, the Corps had remained idle despite his pleas.
"Why make it so complicated?" Black Adam barked, slamming his palm onto the table. "Darkseid sent Steppenwolf here to use the three Mother Boxes to open a door. Fine. Let's give him his wish. We open the portal ourselves, storm Apokolips, and kill Darkseid. Problem solved."
The heroes stared at Black Adam in disbelief. It was a classic "Black Adam solution"—brute, direct, and incredibly dangerous. Apokolips had millions of soldiers. Even if the League members were giants, they could still be brought down by a swarm of locusts, especially when the locusts were Parademons and the leader was a god-tier tyrant. It felt like a suicide mission.
However, the room froze when George spoke next:
"I think Adam makes a valid point. And we should act quickly. If we wait, Darkseid might already be en route with his armada."
George was ready for the endgame. Once Apokolips was dealt with, he could use the Mother Boxes to unlock and analyze the Anti-Life Equation at his leisure. He wanted the matter settled as soon as possible.
The others were taken aback. They hadn't expected the usually pragmatic George to agree with such a reckless plan.
"Don't worry," George added, sensing their hesitation. "If things go south on Apokolips, I can teleport us all back instantly."
Hearing this, the heroes began to reconsider. If a retreat was always an option, a preemptive strike was much more viable. If they failed once, they could regroup and try again. As long as they eventually took out Darkseid, the head would be severed from the snake, and Earth would be safe.
"I agree with George," Batman said, raising his hand. "Time is of the essence. We prepare tonight and move at dawn."
One by one, the other heroes raised their hands.
Their quick decision-making stemmed from two factors. First, every member of the Justice League possessed a heart willing to sacrifice everything for Earth. Second, they had absolute faith in George's power.
Unlike Superman, who had a clear weakness to Kryptonite and low resistance to magic, George appeared to have no weaknesses at all. Over the last two years, even Batman—who obsessively tracked every teammate—had failed to find a single flaw in the cat.
Batman had contingency plans for every League member. If any of them went rogue, he had a specific protocol to neutralize them. The only file that remained empty was George's. It wasn't because he trusted George implicitly; it was because George was so powerful that no strategy could realistically stop him. If George ever turned on Earth, everyone would just have to wait for the end.
But the flip side of that power was the confidence it provided for a mission like this. If George was with them, an assassination mission to Apokolips actually seemed possible.
"Actually... never mind."
As the meeting adjourned and the heroes went to make their final preparations, George started to say something but stopped. He had been tempted to tell them they didn't need to stress because he could probably solo the entire planet himself.
But he decided against it. It would be too boring. With the Presence watching his every move, he felt it was better to maintain the drama and keep things interesting. He'd let them participate, solve the Apokolips problem, and then analyze the Anti-Life Equation. After that, nothing else would matter.
The following morning.
The fully prepared team gathered on the same small island where they had captured Steppenwolf.
"I'll get the final Box," Aquaman said, diving into the waves. He returned shortly with the Atlantean Mother Box.
The three boxes were now accounted for: the human box (integrated with Cyborg), the Amazonian box (recovered from Steppenwolf), and the Atlantean box.
"Leave it to me!"
George extended a paw and took the boxes. A surge of powerful Cosmo energy instantly flooded into the three devices.
Having had the human Mother Box for two years, George had long since deconstructed and mastered the technological laws contained within. He didn't need Cyborg to interface with them; he could convert his own Cosmo to trigger the boxes' synchronization, forcing the three to merge and tear open a shimmering white portal leading straight to the heart of Apokolips.
(End of Chapter)