The Watcher hailed from the Marvel Universe. Thea's memory was clear on that. They were the oldest race in Marvel, and unlike those little blue men in the DC universe, who couldn't go a day without stirring up trouble, the Watchers held themselves to an oath. Observe only. Never interfere. They were the very picture of cosmic neutrality.
But did Marvel really exist? Thea's head was reeling. If you thought about it, though, if the DC universe could exist, a Marvel universe alongside it wasn't that absurd.
Her worldview had just taken a massive hit. She was rapidly piecing together what the Watcher could possibly want here.
"You know him?" Superman asked. "Is he another friend from your universe?"
Thea's jaw tightened. There was a sour taste in her mouth. For the first time, she had no idea how to explain a situation.
This wasn't someone from inside the world. This was a visitor from outside it. To Batman and Superman, the Watcher, the Guardians, the Monitors, they probably all blurred together. But to someone operating at her level, this was deadly serious.
It meant the DC universe had been punched through. Otherwise the Watcher couldn't have crossed over.
An hour ago, she couldn't have named who could do something like that. Now she was ninety-nine percent sure: Krona.
But what was the Watcher here to observe? Or who? She wanted to ask him directly, but Watchers were famously silent. They recorded, that was all. She likely wouldn't get a thing out of him.
Thea's gaze swept across the Justice League's faces. Twice. And then she caught something.
She exhaled, took two quick steps, and reached straight into the air beside Batman, hauling out a scrawny old man.
Diana had her sword out in a heartbeat. Batman flinched: how had this man stayed completely hidden right next to him? He stared at Thea, waiting for an explanation.
The rest of the League turned their eyes on the old man. He wore a gold robe with silver embroidery along the hem, a certain dignity to him. But his hair was disheveled and there was something distinctly slippery about his bearing. Even caught, his eyes still flicked around shiftily, taking everyone in.
The slippery old man looked them all over, finally settling on Thea. "Sharp eyes, little lady..."
Thea's face was deadpan. She sized him up from top to bottom. The concealment was decent, but there was almost no energy signature: a projection, then. She was seventy or eighty percent sure. "You... you're the Grandmaster, aren't you? How did you get into our universe?"
She'd meant to use a more honorific address, but his aura was so off-putting she just couldn't muster any respect.
She kept the explanation vague, and the Justice League automatically slotted it into the parallel universe framework.
Only Diana had questions. The Amazon could now go a hundred rounds with her own father Zeus; she was only one divine seat short of the multiversal level, and the multiverse was no longer the foggy mystery it once had been. But who was the Grandmaster? She didn't recall Thea ever mentioning anyone by that name in the universe. Sensibly, she didn't press.
"Eh? Good eye! Yes, yes, I am the Grandmaster!" The slippery old man dropped the seedy act and tried to puff out his chest, attempting to look imposing. The performance fell flat.
Thea pressed a hand to her face. The endless lifespan had turned this man into a clown.
The real Grandmaster had immortal life. He was immune to aging, disease, and all physical attacks, with regenerative powers beyond imagination. He could convert his cosmic energy into levitation, force projection, telepathy, matter manipulation, time-space travel, and the list went on.
He also possessed formidable resurrection ability. Any sentient being dead for less than thirty minutes was within his power to bring back.
The Grandmaster was one of the Elders of the Universe.
He was, by any conventional measure, unkillable. Originally, he had been a wise and aloof elder. How he had degenerated into this clownish state? The answer was simple. After endless eons without any worthy opponents, boredom had eaten him hollow. If he hadn't started inventing his own amusements, he'd have lost his mind entirely.
Thea had lost count of how many times she'd sighed today. She jerked a thumb at the Jack Ma-looking guy in the sky. "The Watcher outside followed you, didn't he? And what are you doing in our universe?"
The Grandmaster's eyes darted around before landing on Thea and Batman. "Which of you two rules this universe? Or do you have a democracy? A CEO? A council of elders? I have business, but I don't know who to take it to."
Thea beckoned for him to speak to her.
His judgment was still sharp; he'd actually picked Batman out as someone exceptional. In his estimation, Batman likely mattered even more than Diana in his eyes. That was why he'd been hiding next to Batman all this time, watching.
Thea didn't intend to explain the connection. Batman was momentarily startled himself. He didn't have her foreknowledge, but he was a sharp observer and a careful thinker, and the fact that this odd visitor had grouped him with Thea couldn't have come down to his 127 martial-arts styles.
"A great power has come to my universe. He appeared three days ago. An irresistible force. His name is Krona."
The Grandmaster's words crushed the last sliver of hope Thea had been holding onto. So it really was Krona. As for how he'd made it to Marvel, it had nothing to do with the Entities. It was almost certainly some piece of world-shattering technology of his own design.
Thea's brow knit deeply. Whether she liked it or not, the situation had slipped beyond her control. These tech maniacs were too good at causing trouble.
"Ha! Krona, he's one of yours, isn't he?" The Grandmaster clicked his tongue, looking smug, as if he'd just unmasked the true culprit.
"Hngh..." Thea ran a hand through her hair. She had no idea what to do.
The Justice League could tell something enormous was brewing. But heroes were heroes: fearless because they didn't yet understand the scale. Batman was still working through the Grandmaster's words. Superman asked, with genuine warmth, "What's the trouble? We can take it on together."
Diana took her hand, offering silent encouragement.
Thea looked thoroughly burdened. "There's a major problem in our universe. This crisis is bigger than Blackest Night. Bigger than the Anti-Monitor."
Barry spoke up. "Is it the Krona you two were just discussing? Where does he come from? An alien? An enemy from a parallel timeline? Someone from the future?"
Thea said quietly, "Krona was a former Guardian of the Universe."
The League collectively wore the same expression: Of course. So much of what had happened lately came back to the Green Lanterns one way or another.
At this rate, the Justice League was on its way to becoming the Green Lantern Corps Cleanup Committee.
Simon Baz and Jessica Cruz both did their best to fade into the background. Hal Jordan, the "greatest Green Lantern," was suddenly the center of attention.
He looked baffled. Krona? Never heard of him.