The Justice League Watchtower -
The Watchtower hung in the void above Earth, it was silhouetted against the blue-green curve of the planet below. The observation deck's walls offering an unobstructed view of the stars that stretched into infinity.
Arthur emerged from a swirling portal of violet light, he stepped onto the floor. His face was carved from stone, the portal closed behind him with a soft whisper, and he stood alone in the vast chamber.
Batman and Martian Manhunter stood near the central console, their heads bent over a holographic display that glowed with the data of a dozen ongoing crises.
They looked up as Arthur approached, and both of them immediately registered the shift in his demeanor, the set of his shoulders, the darkness in his eyes, the way his hands hung at his sides.
Batman's eyes narrowed. His voice was flat, he read people before they spoke. "You seem in a bad mood. Did something happen?"
Arthur stopped a few meters away, his hands clasped behind his back, The silence stretched between them, before he finally spoke.
"Something did happen." His voice was quiet. "In Nyx. The Anti-Monitor attacked it."
Batman's brow furrowed, his mind already racing through possibilities. Martian Manhunter's eyes opened fully, his gaze sharpening with concern.
Arthur continued "He erased a whole section of the city, there's nothing left. No debris. No bodies. Just..." He paused, searching for the right word. "Absence. One hundred of my Lanterns were there. They were gone in an instant, some of them were shadows, beings who had already died once. He erased them too, Permanently."
Batman's jaw tightened. His fingers moved across the console, pulling up data, cross-referencing known threats. "The Anti-Monitor? The one you warned us about a long time ago? The one who destroyed the Earth that Luthor sent you to?"
Arthur nodded slowly, his eyes fixed on the stars beyond the glass. "The very same." He paused, his voice dropping. "Though it seems that threat was settled by someone. Otherwise, that anti-matter cosmic wave would have reached us a long time ago. It was intercepted, redirected, or absorbed by something or someone, powerful enough to match it."
His eyes narrowed, violet flickering at the edges.
"And that someone might have been Darkseid himself."
Batman's eyes widened with genuine surprise. "Darkseid? Why would he.."
"Because Mobius is a threat to him as well," Arthur cut in, "The Anti-Monitor doesn't just want to destroy Earth. He wants to destroy everything. He is the closest thing to the embodiment of anti-life, the absence of all things. And Darkseid, for all his tyranny, is a being of life, twisted and corrupt, but still fundamentally attached to existence. They are natural enemies, even though he seeks anti-life as well."
He paused, his hands unclenching at his sides.
"But I believe he is weakened. Otherwise, he would have obliterated Nyx entirely at his full strength. That attack, devastating as it was, was a testing blow. A probing strike. He's measuring my response, my capabilities, my resolve." His voice hardened. "He is a formidable being. But he is not at his peak, that much is clear to me, something did happen to him."
Batman's hands moved across the console, pulling up historical data, fragments of knowledge the League had accumulated over the years. "I have not seen his power firsthand. I cannot say much with certainty."
Arthur's voice was distant, his eyes unfocused. "I saw it a long time ago, I can't forget it." His voice dropped to a whisper. "It took that Earth within minutes.. A world full of people fighting for their lives, and it was gone before anyone could even scream. I was saved by Alexander Luthor of that Earth. He pulled me out at the last moment, sacrificed himself so that someone would remember them."
He straightened, his eyes blazing with violet glow.
"I will avenge him. And my Lanterns." His voice hardened. "Many of them were good people, doing the right thing for this chaotic universe. They deserved better than to be erased by a cosmic tyrant who views existence as an inconvenience.."
Batman's voice was calm, "We have made too many enemies lately. We are fighting a multi-front war, the Monarchs, the Dragon Monarch, Darkseid's machinations, and now the Anti-Monitor. Our resources are stretched thin, and our allies are scattered, you will have to deal with this on your own I'm afraid, but we will help with whatever we can."
Arthur's voice carried a note of steel. "And we will continue to do so, and we will prevail. One more enemy is not a problem for me. I have faced worse odds." He paused. "And I have won."
Batman's eyes narrowed, his strategic mind already turning. "What are his motives? That is what we need to find out. Naturally, his attack on Nyx is not random. He wants to provoke you, to force you into a reaction. But if he is weakened as you say, it wouldn't make sense for him to reveal himself so openly.. unless he wants something else."
Arthur's jaw tightened, his mind working through the implications. "I believe it has something to do with Qward. Because it is a planet in the anti-matter universe. His universe. Nyx was built on the bones of a world that belonged to him, a world he might have considered his territory, his domain."
Batman nodded slowly, his fingers tapping against the console. "Possible. But why now? The Shadow Lanterns have been operating in Nyx for some time now. They monitor the sectors of this universe, alongside the Green Lanterns. They have been active, visible, and unopposed except by some. I see no reason to attack them from his perspective, unless something has changed. Unless something has motivated him."
Before Arthur could respond, a voice cut through the conversation.
"Perhaps I can shed some light on that, my King."
Shadow Lex Luthor stepped forward from the shadows, his form gleaming with violet light. His expression was calculating, his mind had been analyzing cosmic threats for longer than anyone in the room could fully comprehend. He bowed his head to Arthur.
Arthur's voice was flat, but not dismissive. "Go ahead."
Shadow Lex straightened, his eyes gleaming with the satisfaction of a puzzle solved. "My King, if you allow me: I have been researching the cosmic beings of the universe on your orders for a very long time now. I have compiled extensive data on the Anti-Monitor, his history, his patterns, his weaknesses." He paused. "The Anti-Monitor has been in a long, protracted conflict against Darkseid for centuries, a war of attrition that has left both of them weakened and wary of one another."
He paused, "Considering that Nyx is at war with Apokolips, and considering that there is also the threat of the Dragon Monarch lurking in the shadows..." His voice dropped, becoming more conspiratorial. "What if he is aware of all of this? What if he has been watching, waiting for the right moment to join the fray?"
Arthur's eyes narrowed, his interest piqued. "Go on."
"Maybe he wishes for you to find him, to draw you into a trap of his own devising. Or maybe he wants you to panic. To attack Darkseid in a frenzy of vengeance, hoping to eliminate one threat before focusing on the new one." He paused. "Or perhaps he simply wants to create chaos. To destabilize the current power structure, forcing you and Darkseid to exhaust yourselves against each other while he watches from the shadows, waiting for the perfect moment to strike and eliminate both."
Arthur was silent for a long moment, his mind turning over the implications.
"That's..." He paused. "Actually fair. A smart way to use our conflict to his advantage."
Batman's voice was flat, "What if you ally with Darkseid for a while and attack him instead? He won't see that coming."
Arthur's laugh was dry, humorless, "Unwise. Darkseid would then use that to his advantage. He would kill me while I am exhausted from the fight with the Anti-Monitor. He would see it as an opportunity, not an alliance, one he would accept in a heartbeat."
Batman's eyes narrowed. "There might be a way to balance that. To use one enemy against the other without committing fully."
Arthur shook his head slowly. "Darkseid is too cunning. He would see through any attempt at manipulation. He would use it to his advantage, regardless of the outcome." He paused. "No. I will handle the Anti-Monitor myself. But I will do it on my terms."
"What a situation this is..." Martian Manhunter paused, his eyes glowing faintly. "We shouldn't forget the new threat as well. The Dragon Monarch. He has been quiet, and have yet to show himself, that concerns me."
Arthur's voice was calm, controlled. "I haven't forgotten that. I've already hired someone to track him. Alongside Grail. I need to find out what she is up to."
Batman's eyebrow rose. "Hired?"
Arthur nodded with a smile. "Yeah. The best bounty hunter in the universe."
Batman's eyes narrowed. "You hired Lobo? After my great effort in convincing him to leave Earth at that time, and now you went out and hired him for this job.. and he agreed?"
Arthur's smile widened with amusment. "Raven and I managed to convince him. He didn't object." He paused. "He was actually excited to do it."
Batman exchanged a look with Martian Manhunter, a silent conversation passing between them. Then he spoke, "That's a... I didn't even think about it. But it is a good plan, you came up with this idea?"
Arthur's smile softened. "Raven did."
Batman's expression shifted, "That explains it, then."
"Hey! What do you mean by that?" Arthur asked.
Batman's voice was flat. "She is smart enough to use enemies as assets in times of need. You would just get rid of them and use them as shadows instead."
"It is the same thing to me." Arthur replied.
Batman shook his head, his expression shifting back to business. "We should keep an eye out for this Anti-Monitor as well now. He has revealed himself, and that means he is planning something bigger."
Shadow Lex stepped forward, his mind had already solved the problem. "Won't be an issue. I've already designed a detector that detects anti-matter waves days before they arrive." He paused, a hint of pride in his voice. "A cosmic attack of that scale is easy to anticipate, believe it or not. The energy signatures are distinctive, they leave traces in the quantum field that persist for days after the event."
"I'll count on you then. I'll have to keep Nyx alert. And I should seek the Guardians in Oa for information and, possibly aid, our forces are stretched thin, and I will not be risking my strongest shadow soldiers against someone that can Erase them." He paused. "They might have a history with him in Oa. After all, he kills life while they claim to protect it."
"They don't exactly like you, Arthur. But they will be difficult either way. Proceed with this, since you might learn something. John Stewart is here too, he can accompany you to Oa." Batman said.
Arthur nodded slowly, his eyes fixed on the stars beyond the glass. "Alright."
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