With a flash of light, Shin activated the Flying Thunder God Technique and appeared beside Diana.
At that moment, Diana had already entered her twin-form state and was located in an underground base. Alongside her stood Aquaman, Mera, and a colorful cast of individuals all clearly members or allies of the Justice League.
What surprised Shin most was seeing the Joker present, standing in front of the main surveillance console like a field commander, carefully watching the feed.
Elsewhere in the base, a bald man clacked away at a keyboard, Lex Luthor, whom Shin had previously hypnotized and erased from memory while he was still imprisoned. Apparently, his hair had since fallen out, bringing his current appearance in line with his well-known comic book image.
Shin also spotted a man glowing with green energy from a power ring, alongside another figure clad in a green hood.
"Green Lantern and Green Arrow?" Shin tilted his head, half-smiling.
"Indeed. Welcome, traveler," Green Arrow said warmly, extending his hand. Shin shook it in return.
Green Lantern was too busy operating a support machine generated by his Lantern Ring to engage directly. Instead, a glowing green projection of a hand extended from the ring and gave Shin a quick handshake.
"And me! Don't forget me!" exclaimed a burly young man with a goofy grin. He ran over enthusiastically, clearly brimming with energy. His outfit resembled Superman's, but his demeanor lacked the poise or majesty of the Man of Steel.
"Hey! I'm Shazam! I became a superhero while you were away," he said gleefully, grabbing Shin's hand and giving it a vigorous shake. "I'm part of the Justice League now too! You're the famous multiverse traveler, right? That's so awesome!"
Ah, Shazam...
In a world as gritty and angst-ridden as DC's, Shazam was one of the rare outliers a bright, upbeat presence with childlike energy. Though his jovial behavior bordered on comic relief, his combat power was nothing to scoff at. Often dubbed "magic Superman," Shazam's strength was formidable.
He wasn't as powerful as the real Superman, of course, but in terms of raw combat potential, he was arguably stronger than Wonder Woman. What made him especially dangerous was the absence of Superman's weaknesses, no vulnerability to kryptonite, red sunlight, or magic.
That said, paper stats don't translate perfectly to battle performance. Between the two, Shin still wagered on Diana. Shazam was, after all, still a literal teenager his combat instincts were practically nonexistent. Superman at his lowest could still unleash 30 to 50 percent of his potential, but Shazam? Ten percent on a good day.
After the enthusiastic handshake, Shazam looked at the group behind Shin with curiosity. "Who are they? New superheroes?"
Shin shook his head. "No, they're friends of mine from other universes. This is Scarlet Witch, this is Quicksilver, and this is the Ancient One."
"Witch and wizard?" Shazam's eyes widened with interest. "Like the wizard who gave me my powers? That's pretty cool!"
"I'm afraid they're not quite the same as your wizard," Shin muttered with a faint smirk. "Though the Ancient One might have a fighting chance in the Marvel universe, in the DC realm, even he's outclassed by the wizard Shazam."
To this day, Shin still didn't know what qualifications the mysterious old wizard from the Rock of Eternity had used when choosing Billy Batson as his successor. He certainly didn't buy the whole "pure and good heart" narrative. If that were truly the criteria, wouldn't Superman or the Flash have been far better candidates?
Superman was the planet's moral compass, and the Flash was universally loved for his kindness. Choosing a random 14-year-old kid? That just didn't add up.
Besides, if there's one rule Shin understood about magic, it's that it always comes with a price. One way or another, Billy Batson was going to pay it. Someday, he might find himself shackled to that rock, taking the wizard's place.
Shaking off the thought, Shin asked, "Alright, enough small talk. Can someone tell me what happened here?"
"It's all Batman's fault!" both versions of Wonder Woman snapped in unison, clearly fed up. "He came up with that ridiculous Brother Eye plan!"
With the twins tag-teaming the explanation, Shin quickly pieced together the situation.
It was a story all too familiar eerily reminiscent of Tony Stark's Ultron initiative. After the devastating battle against Apokolips, Batman couldn't rest. The memory of the invasion haunted him nightly, compelling him to design a fail-safe strategy for future planetary threats.
Like many geniuses, Batman's solution involved technology.
He proposed building a global surveillance and combat system a satellite paired with an army of nanotech robots that could be deployed instantly in any crisis. He called it the Brother Eye Project.
Naturally, this wasn't something he could do alone. Earth's technology wasn't yet advanced enough, so Batman approached his allies for help. Under the guise of developing a "disaster rescue network," he gained support from the Justice League.
Surprisingly, both Superman and Aquaman agreed.
Even though Superman had been betrayed by Batman in the past, they shared a common bond both of their mothers were named Martha. That was apparently enough for Clark to let bygones be bygones.
So Superman contributed Kryptonian tech, and Aquaman offered Atlantis technology.
It was worth noting that Arthur had already claimed his place as the rightful King of Atlantis. Thanks to mastering Fish-Man Karate, his journey to the throne was smoother than what Shin had seen in the movies. During the trial-by-combat with his half-brother, Arthur crushed him effortlessly seizing both the throne and his brother's queen without much fuss.
With access to Kryptonian systems, Atlantean engineering, and now additional data from the Green Lantern Corps, courtesy of Hal Jordan's recent return from training on Oa, Batman's research made rapid progress.
Hal's ring, after all, wasn't just a weapon. It also served as a cosmic database, storing massive amounts of alien knowledge.
What began as a project to "protect the planet" would soon spiral into something far more dangerous...
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