Darkseid and his retinue entered the meeting hall where the unlikely diplomatic discussion should be happening.
The meeting was supposed to be held at the Celestial Hall, a luxurious and spacious chamber housing the greatest achievements of New Genesis. Copies and replicas of great inventions, spaceships, renewable energy engines, magical studies, and archaeological curios. The only things that bothered Darkseid here were trophies from the war. The war with Apokolips.
They were dragged here specifically to rub salt into the wounds, both fresh and old, that the Apokoliptian army had suffered throughout the aeons of war between the two New God factions. The freshest one was a defeat by the star called Ors, one of the middle star systems between the two empires of gods. During that "battle", the Apokoliptian fleet fell into an ambush by the much more maneuverable fleet of New Genesis. The trophy from that fight was a piece of a hull from the flagship battleship that contained the emblem of Apokolips and the name of the battleship "Gloryhound". Once part of the Yuga Khan's fleet, it was eventually separated to lead its own fleet, with the crew and the captain of the ship getting promotions. That fleet was completely wiped out; no crew or officer survived it.
Darkseid couldn't care less about some fleet that lost a battle during his father's reign. But the intent to hurt was still there. The supposed guardians of the good and light were using underhanded slights to try and taunt Darkseid into making a mistake… He swore to himself to try and squeeze everything he could out of these negotiations.
Finally, their group approached the giant round table at the center of the Celestial Hall. The table was a fascinating sight, a levitating disk, perfectly circular and transparent. A soft pulsing light was emitting from the table, but not strong enough to harm or otherwise affect people sitting at it. Across the middle of the table, a purple cloth was laid, dividing it into two halves.
The seats were split between the two halves, clearly intended for two groups of people. But currently, the table was vacant.
It was once again a power play by the New Genesians. Making their enemies wait for them, wasting their time, is a common underhanded tactic to extend one's authority over someone whom they had no authority over.
Well, despite the rage bubbling inside of him, he was able to shove it deep inside to the back of his dark soul. They were forced to wait.
Several minutes later, fashionably late assholes of the ruling elite of the New Genesis have arrived. Darkseid pointedly ignored everyone else besides Izaya, the Highfather.
Silver-haired man, old enough to be grandfather a hundred times over, Izaya looked regal. His purple robes with golden decorations all around made his silver beard and moderately long hair pop out more. His crook of a nose somehow made him look more dignified, accenting his pride and status. The two of them shook hands. A firm handshake surprisingly lacked violence or anger behind it.
The two groups silently took their seats at the table.
"Darkseid", Izaya said with surprising venom in his voice. With how not aggressive the handshake was, the Apokoliptian ruler didn't expect such vile in the voice of his counterpart. "Why did you travel here? Do you want to declare war officially? You seem unable to do anything else besides war".
Cold silence overtook the room; no one dared to even breathe to disturb the situation.
"That is true." Darkseid replied, choosing not to react to the provocation, but got immediately interrupted by the ensuing shouts and screams of the scandalised New Genesians.
"You scum! Came all the way here just to spit in our face?" A tall, robed woman with face paint shouted from across the table.
"We should kill you for such insolence, boy." Lightray jumped from the outskirts of the room with a ball of light bubbling inside his right hand.
"Learn respect, Genesians dog" Big Barda and other Furies stood up from their seats, drawing their weapons.
"SILENCE", The Highfather rose from his seat in all his impressive height and extended his godly aura, covering the whole room with a blanket of his power. Everyone present cowered under the pressure, clutching their heads and breathing heavily. Some guards stationed by the doors even fell unconscious.
The only one unaffected was Darkseid himself, patiently sitting at his seat and enjoying the chaos that he caused.
"Like I've said, Highfather. I'm here to declare a war, a war on our little galaxy".
Once again, silence filled the room. But this time, instead of anticipation, people felt themselves heating up with dread. The sheer size of a war that would overtake their galaxy… it terrified the present New Genesians. The number of people that would die, the loss of life… Catastrophic. Thei galaxy currently held 3 super powers: Apokolips, New Genesis and H'san Natall, three Empires of comparable power.
"So you've come to throw that in our face and leave to H'san Natall next and do the same? I never thought you to be this dumb, Uxas." Highfather sighed disappointedly. "You will never win that war."
"Oh, I'm aware". Now, even Izaya himself was left flabbergasted. His two blue eyes started drilling into Darkseid, gauging him up and trying to discern what his game was.
"I'm here to establish an alliance with New Genesis. One that would develop into a lasting peace". Darkseid threw his offer out like a fishing rod into a pond. Now, it was all up to the fish to fall for the hook.
The Highfather's face was like a ride at an amusement park; he went from red to pale, to grey. Clearly, the storm of emotions was too strong for him to try to stop it from reaching his face.
After a long pregnant pause, Izaya sat back in his seat. His robes were jumbled up, but he didn't care. There was something much more important at the moment.
"Everyone, leave", New Genesian patriarch gave out an order to his people.
Darkseid caught a pointed look from Aurelie, current captain of the Furies; she was waiting for his command.
"You all can leave as well, Aurelie. Don't go far away and keep our scientist safe".
"As you wish, my liege".
After everyone else was out of the room, the two rulers were left alone.
"What did you mean by an alliance?" The Highfather started the conversation.
"What do you think I meant? I've said what I've said, Izaya." Darkseid replied nonchalantly.
"You are a millennium too young to call me by my name, boy." The new Genesian ruler was not happy with how a youngblood was treating him during the negotiations.
"I don't care what you think, old man. I hold the same status as you".
"You think we would help your Empire of Evil conquer the universe?" Highfather had raised his voice, visibly overtaken by emotions.
Looking almost tired of the conversation, Darkseid simply said:
"Yes, I do".
Izaya was scandalised. This was not a diplomatic talk. This toddler dares to walk inside his home and treat him like a walking board? New Genesis was the good, light side of the New Gods, not the weakling side.
"You see, Highfather, your society is going to hit a ceiling soon, and you know it."
Both of the present rulers were well versed in the situations of the two countries, their own and the enemy state. Spies were an important part of modern warfare, and no step was taken in the war without the advanced information about the goings on in the enemy camp".
That's why both of them knew that Darkseid was telling the truth. Despite the size and prosperity of the Supertown, the economic and cultural development and the advanced scientific research, the major problem for the Highfather and the Council of Six, the executive and the lawmaking bodies respectively, was the lack of resources. To produce hi-tech, one needed to gather necessary resources. Synthesising and similar concepts created over the years made the lack of resources much less of a problem, opening up to another problem - the need for energy. Synthesisers, material creators, and other similar processes require a lot of energy. Despite the advanced technology, New Genesis couldn't keep up, especially not while operating on the limited resources of one planet.
Their subjects and holdings inside their star system were not rich with resources. While the New Genesian holdings outside their star system were limited to agrarian production and trade, this was due to the constant war with Apokolips, which meant constant exchange of territory.
Both Empires suffered from the lack of development in the territories outside their capital system. Constant war brought them development of tech, prestige and money. But it couldn't bring them stability and security - something that they needed to have to develop land outside their home planet.
And geopolitically New Genesis was in a harder position. It was located on the outskirts of the universe between two Evil Empires. Apokolips, their evil brothers and sisters. And H'San Natall, an Empire of psychically sensitive people that are made of energy, literally. Space travel in the universe was accomplished through use of the wormholes, discovered long time ago. All wormholes on New Genesis were leading to hostile factions.
The peace with H'san Natall was a very shaky endeavor for both New God factions. Essentially, both were in a constant state of uneasy peace, with border fights sparking here and there. In the past H'san Natall was on a rampage of conquest, constantly acquiring territories. But they were forced to stop; and now were in a state of hibernation. It was only atter of time before that Empire would start war again.
Apokolips, fortunately for itself, had only a minimal border with H'san Natall, only a star system wide, a single wormhole was connecting the two empires, essentially a choke point for two Empires. But Apokolips also enjoying access to the wider universe through the Krypton galaxy, which was to the hypothetical "South" off from their home star system.
Yuga Khan, Darkseid's father, conquered all star systems that he could without touching other superpowers in their galaxy. He did not want to open up to the conflict with the bigger fish in the pond - Krypton and the H'san Natall. Currently, Apokolips was left with no direction of expansion besides having a major Empire-on-Empire war.
In the original timeline, Darkseid would choose to concentrate on the New Genesis, avoiding both Krypton and H'san Natall. All in an effort not to stretch his force too thin. But in the end, the war with New Genesis was a stalemate, which only underwent development after the Krypton Empire fell with the destruction of the capital planet of the said Empire, Krypton. Then their neighbours rushed to take over their territories, one of which was Apokolips.
Darkseid was promptly taken out of his thoughts by Highfather speaking to him, this time calmer and more respectful.
"So what are your offerings, Darkseid? What does your "alliance" mean for both of us?" Cautious, but still apprehensive, Izaya was now willing to entertain the idea of a deal with his evil counterpart. All for the betterment of his people. However, only if the deal was beneficial for his side.
Darkseid allowed himself to smile; this was a victory. Getting Highfather to consider the idea of an alliance was easier than he thought. But now, he needed to make the deal happen. And for that, he was prepared to do what he had to do.