Superman didn't feel Barry had changed much, just that Barry had been a bit obsessed with cold jokes lately.
He hovered in the air beside the volcanic crater, the hot air making his red cape flutter wildly: "Adam, any findings?"
Adam's uniform was a set of alien armor, integrated with various high-tech devices, and he was waiting for their readings.
"I'm still waiting for results, when the computer can't keep up with your speed, it feels slow."
"Maybe we should call Steel Bone back? Try the Mother Box?" When it comes to supercomputers, Barry always thinks of the Mother Box.
Batman rejected Barry's suggestion: "Steel Bone has already entered the Phantom Star Domain and lost contact with us, now tell us about your findings."
Adam looked at the readings on his arm's display: "We don't know much, but it's clear the Destruction Legion isn't here, based on initial readings, there is a type of ray here, very similar to Zeta rays."
Superman sighed, letting the temperature around him drop slightly, Barry had been sweating a lot, he wanted his friend to be more comfortable: "Their base used to be here then?"
"Yes... and no, whatever it's composed of, it has phase properties; this variable energy resembles Zeta rays, allowing their base to exist somewhere, yet at the same time, physically not be there."
It sounded somewhat like Ron's phase transition ability, being able to turn himself into a void.
Superman used his super vision to observe, feeling he could discover something different.
He indeed discovered something.
He shared the new discovery with Batman: "Whatever it was, they launched something from here into deep space."
"I have orbital readings and simulation results... they launched a beacon, like a lighthouse." Adam added.
"A lighthouse? Guiding something?" Barry rubbed his chin.
Adam shrugged: "They're the Destruction Legion, I guess whatever that beacon attracts won't be anything good."
There was nothing else found here, the Destruction Legion had eluded them, and their plan to ambush Luthor's lair failed.
Superman just touched his headset, not too used to using it for communication; if not for the soundproof walls of the Hall of Justice, actually, if Batman spoke in Washington, Superman focused, he could hear him.
"Are you okay? Batman."
Batman, enveloped in armor, was still sitting in front of the computer mainframe in the command hall, with several surveillance screens ahead of him. He could already see the status of Superman and Diana's team, and the satellite had locked onto their location.
Meanwhile, he had to simultaneously monitor hundreds of cameras in the Hall of Justice.
The sun had risen outside, and people gradually headed to the Hall of Justice to begin their visits.
The vendors selling hero merchandise and food and drinks had gathered in the plaza, starting their new day's activities.
Almost every hero's merchandise was here, from rubber-made Fire God Sword Shields to red-yellow 'S' letter T-shirts.
Batman didn't like such a complex and noisy environment, but Superman believed people had the right to set up stalls in Justice League Plaza.
As long as their food met hygiene standards and their merchandise toys were safe, heroes should accept being closer to ordinary people.
Su Ming, coming here for the first time, knew the Justice League's aim was 'superheroes you can meet,' maybe even changing its name to JLA48.
Of course, counting the Young Justice League, Justice League Community, and International Justice League, there could indeed be 48 people.
And Superman debuted center stage, his Guang Weizheng image being the face of the Justice League.
Batman calmly replied: "Why would things be bad? Everything's normal on this side of the Hall of Justice."
Superman covered his headset: "Ever since you broke all your bones and got plastered up..."
"I'm fine, I'm investigating where they launched the beacon." Batman, relying entirely on his armor's assistance with only a few fingers able to move, unflinchingly despite constant pain: "Ha..."
"Hmm? Ha what?" Barry heard Batman's sound, it wasn't a laugh but a kind of 'aha' sound from discovering something.
Batman was more concise, omitting the 'a' sound of 'aha'.
"Whatever our enemy launched, its target is in a space seafood region."
Batman answered Barry, but that answer only made things more confusing.
"Space what?" Superman didn't understand either.
"A vast cosmic coral reef, like the Great Barrier Reef in alien systems, but too far away, beyond our instruments' detection range." Bat detailed the explanation.
"So Green Lantern Hero might know something, can we still contact them?" Barry reminded.
"Ron, Lantern Hero John, and Hawk Woman have entered the gravity trap of Sena Star, this is why we've reverted to headphone earpieces instead of Ron's mental connection. Can Luo is still in infancy, its capabilities are very limited."
Superman nodded, indicating that they couldn't contact the space squad and could only wait for news: "I hope they can bring back the answer about the Totality."
"Hopefully," Bruce echoed.
"So, did you get any intel from Star Hero?" Barry was more concerned about this question: "He said three of us would die."
"His brain had half of it removed beforehand; I think it was Luthor's handiwork... Given that he only has half a brain, Will Peyton probably can only count to three, perhaps he meant to say we would all die."
"Uh....." Adam sighed deeply, still not used to Bat's jokes.
Batman continued his explanation, he wasn't joking, but stating facts.
"I used Can Luo to read his brain and found some intel about the Totality, very puzzling. The Totality has left fragments in all timelines, and it has deep connections with these traces that need to be investigated thoroughly."
................
In Antarctica, Sea King and the others are digging deep, thanks to Batman having them bring Firestorm, whose energy beams are perfect for digging through the ice surface.
Fast and neat, like a large nuclear-powered laser drill.
They had already found the target vessel, an Amazon-style warship, but with an Atlantis power system and prow.
"This is it, some icy fog particles are surrounding it, carrying magic or some other witchcraft," Firestorm led Diana and Sea King into the hole he burned through: "These particles are like a mirror; if it weren't for its current extreme instability, I wouldn't have even discovered it."
He is a scientist, not a warlock.
Diana understood that because of Hecate's demise, plus Poseidon's death, this protective array had become ineffective.
This was why countless people couldn't find this ship and the key to the crypt before.
"This is Aryan's flagship, well done, Firestorm."
Sea King patted Firestorm on the shoulder and strode onto the ship, the trident in his hand seemed like a pass, and the icy fog dissipated instantly in front of him.
Diana and Firestorm also boarded the derelict ship.
Indeed, it was a derelict ship, left here for at least a few thousand years, and it's considered a miracle of craftsmanship that it hadn't turned into a heap of rubble completely.
"Who is Aryan?" Firestorm asked.
"Uh, he was Atlantis's first and greatest hero..." Arthur said a few sentences, but he couldn't continue the fabrication...
Fortunately, Diana was there, and Paradise Island had complete historical records, and having been raised as a queen from a young age, history was a compulsory subject for her.
"Aryan was also a friend of the Amazons, he was everyone's friend," Diana took over Arthur's topic, explaining to Firestorm: "Before Atlantis sank, it was a civilization of exploration and discovery. With Poseidon's help, Aryan invented a cosmic shell called 'Divine Horn' that could call upon all civilizations with oceans and marine life in the Multiverse."
"Then what happened?" Firestorm was very curious about this.
Diana sighed, what else could have happened?
"He hoped all oceanic civilizations would come to Earth to form an alliance, for mutual exploration of the cosmos, mutual benefit... Some unknown entities indeed responded to him, but not all aliens are good people."
"Hmm, that makes some sense. We all know it's survival of the fittest in the cosmos," Firestorm agreed, thinking it was about right.
Diana continued: "So Aryan formed an alliance, uniting all Earth's beings and his alien allies to defeat those invaders and protect Earth."
Arthur nodded, Diana's account should be accurate, eliminating the need to check back on the material when facing his wife later, much to his delight.
"Since then, Atlantis sank into the sea, and the inhabitants began to live underwater, becoming what they are today, a closed-off nation." Diana added.
"No, Atlantis is now an open nation. I've always been committed to the exchanges between Atlantis and various races," Arthur retorted, having gained a broader perspective after joining the league: "Of course, humans need to undergo strict scrutiny and physical examinations to enter Atlantis; there are still many things we don't fully understand."
Earth is like a small boat in the cosmos, with all Earth's beings crammed onto one vessel; what good does closing oneself off do?
Therefore, due to the Omega Four Gods, Atlantis had surfaced this time, and he didn't even plan to let it sink back, hoping everyone could live on the sea surface to bridge some distance.
Yet the one calling the shots on the throne now is Mera; he holds merely the title of Sea King in name...
He sighed again at this thought.
Diana shrugged. The situation on Paradise Island was much like theirs, only Diana, as the queen, chose to have the Amazon Warriors go out and live in human society, instead of letting others come to Paradise Island.
After all, if she wanted to understand ordinary people, one must engage with society more comprehensively, as well as the environment where ordinary people live.
This was Diana's personal experience.
But, being an Amazon, it's better not to meddle in Atlantis's affairs; maybe the Undersea People have special methods, who knows.