"..."
Watching Steppenwolf lead hordes of demons to Earth, Aron and Wanda remained silent.
Because this scene…
That feeling…
Déjà vu.
Too familiar.
First Darkseid disappears, then his followers try to obtain some powerful artifact capable of destroying Earth, and then, a full-scale invasion led by a massive fleet.
"If I weren't absolutely sure that Corvus Glaive is dead…"
"I'd think he was behind this," said Aron, shaking his head.
It was he who had banished Darkseid to the Supreme Dimension.
His fate, whether alive or dead, remained unknown.
As a result, his loyal followers, just like Thanos's, began acting on their own accord.
"Superman isn't here. They're actually not yet capable of fighting seriously."
Aron looked up.
The members of the Justice League had detected the invasion and begun to resist,
but without Superman, Flash, or Aquaman, especially without the overwhelming power of Superman himself, the League couldn't hold out.
The forces of the DC Universe were no match for Steppenwolf's army.
"Should we go down and help them?" asked Wanda.
Aron didn't respond immediately.
His gaze dropped to the chaos below.
Metropolis, once Superman's home, now leveled to the ground.
It had become a battlefield between the forces of light and darkness.
The Justice League.
The Justice Society.
Even the Suicide Squad, made up of villains, were fighting.
And in the midst of the battlefield…
familiar, dangerous figures could be seen, escapees from Arkham Asylum.
Despite all those forces, the battle was one-sided.
Steppenwolf had brought the elite troops of Apokolips.
Even Black Adam, empowered by the divine strength of Amon, had met an opponent he could not easily overpower.
Kalibak.
Darkseid's son.
The raw power of Kalibak was beyond imagination.
Not even Black Adam could shake his strength, let alone anyone else.
Wonder Woman, Diana led her Amazons from Themyscira.
But even that wasn't enough.
The Amazon warriors were quickly pushed back by the Nemesis unit, led by Granny Goodness.
Nemesis Squad.
A special elite formation of Apokolips.
Each member, a woman of the New Order, a warrior from Apokolips.
Unbelievable physical strength.
Mastery of combat arts.
And brutality at their core.
"They can't win," Wanda quietly concluded.
But Aron thought differently.
"Not necessarily…"
His gaze locked on Batman.
At that moment, Bruce Wayne was already in his classic mode: invisible, strategic, precise.
"Shopping on the battlefield," Aron would call it.
Batman used his Batclaw and cape to swing through the battle.
He moved swiftly, left and right, dodging energy blasts with incredible precision.
Astonishingly, he remained unscathed.
"As long as Batman's here, the Justice League doesn't have to lose."
As his biggest fan, Aron had unconditional faith in the Bat.
"Him?" Wanda couldn't understand.
Especially while watching Batman dart around the battlefield like a fly, not landing a single punch.
"He has no superhuman powers. How could he decide the battle?"
"Because… I'm Batman."
Aron smiled slyly.
He pulled out five stones: blue, green, red, yellow, orange.
He lifted one and looked through it as if it were candy.
The stone's light began to pulse.
That meant…
The fusion of the two universes had begun!
The Infinity Stones, which until now had been dormant in the DC Universe, were now awakening!
"We have to put an end to this…"
He didn't even finish the sentence.
The five stones in his hand suddenly glowed simultaneously.
He looked down.
The Power Gem, which Batman had previously hidden in the Justice League's headquarters, was gone!
More precisely, it had returned to the Marvel Universe.
"Worthy of DC's title as the king of schemers. To set such a game in motion…"
Aron said, then left the DC Universe with Wanda.
And the Steppenwolf invasion?
No problem.
Batman was there.
Everything would be fine.
Why?
Because he's Batman.
…
Marvel Universe.
Purple energy of destruction erupted.
Wherever it passed, the streets of New York vanished without a trace.
"Ha, hahaha!!"
A maniacal laugh echoed through the ruined streets of New York.
It was DC's Joker.
After escaping from Arkham Asylum, he immediately received word from Harley Quinn.
At the moment when everyone, inside and out including Batman and the others, were occupied with Steppenwolf's invasion, he took advantage of the chaos to steal the Power Gem, which had been hidden in the Justice League's headquarters.
And through a portal constructed from the metallic remains of technology, he crossed into the Marvel Universe.
"Ahahaha! What a brilliant joke, hahahaha…"
His laughter grew louder and more deranged.
Even Harley Quinn, the clown girl herself, felt uneasy at that moment.
"Hey, Pudding? Are you okay?"
"Oh, Halle! I feel incredible! I've never felt so… alive!"
Joker threw his head back.
His eyes, under the influence of the Power Gem, turned dark purple, dangerous, unstable.
His grotesque grin stretched all the way past his ears.
He looked like a nightmare.
The Power Gem, the most destructive of all the Infinity Stones, cannot be wielded by bare hands.
Even Peter Quill, a half-divine being, barely survived touching it.
But Joker…
His insane joy and chaotic nature made him the perfect user.
Because, Batman had secretly planned to use the Power Gem as a weapon.
He had created a container made of Promethean metal, similar to the Infinity Gauntlet.
There was only one flaw…
That design had been based on the original Thanos gauntlet.
When Thanos once crossed into the DC Universe, he had left the Power Gem in that gauntlet.
However, during his battle with Superman, the gauntlet was damaged.
Now…
Joker had become the accidental heir to all those chain reactions.
"Halle! Let's play!" he shouted, clenched his fist, and released the unfiltered energy of the Gem into the surroundings.
Non-selective. Chaotic. Destructive.
Explosions rocked the streets.
This assault caught the Avengers' attention.
"Stop! You're… what are you? A clown?"
Tony Stark descended from the sky, and upon seeing Joker's face, froze for a moment.
He was stunned, but then fury overtook him.
He looked around.
Destroyed buildings, shattered asphalt, panic in civilians' eyes.
"You think you're still in Gotham, Joker!?"
Tony was furious.
"This is New York. You don't play with bombs and jokes here!"
At his command, from the sky descended Hulk, Hawkeye, Daredevil, Tekken, Ares, and Hercules, returning from the Moon.
The Avengers surrounded Joker.
They looked at him with cold determination and murderous silence.
"Fantastic," muttered Hawkeye, drawing an arrow from his advanced steel bow.
"You've brought us the Power Gem yourself."
The arrow flew, but before it could get close, Joker's unleashed energy destroyed it midair.
"Hahahahaha…"
"Interesting thing. But why so serious?" Joker's laughter became even more horrifying.