"Kryptonians are ordinary people right now, so a rescue operation is fine by me. But if they need enhancement, what's your plan?" Batman pressed further. Kryptonian enhancement was absurdly overpowered. There wasn't a species in the entire universe that grew stronger faster.
Thea had, of course, considered this. A hundred thousand sun-charged Kryptonians, lined up shoulder to shoulder, counting down in unison—three, two, one, fire! A hundred thousand simultaneous heat vision blasts. The sheer spectacle was staggering just to imagine. Forget about her; even The Presence Himself could step onto the field and still get the living daylights beaten out of Him.
Quantity stacked high enough could absolutely override quality.
Unfortunately, no being of real power would fight them head-on like that. One reality warp conjuring a red sun and every last Kryptonian was finished.
She wasn't worried about the Kryptonian problem. If she wanted, she could extinguish every star in the universe, rewrite Kryptonian DNA. It would take nothing more than a thought.
Still, she offered an explanation. "Kryptonians aren't bad people. You'll agree with that, right?"
Batman had reservations, but one glance at the three Kryptonians beside him and he nodded.
"Your anxiety over a hundred thousand Kryptonians is completely unnecessary. Krypton wasn't some warrior planet. Among them there are scholars, artists, teachers, people from every walk of life. Out of a hundred thousand, fewer than a thousand were actual combatants. And..."
She chose her words carefully before deciding to tell the truth. "When Brainiac invaded Kandor, the city's warriors were among the first casualties. The majority were killed almost immediately. So the real number is far below a thousand."
Superman fell silent, mourning the sacrifice of his people. Faora had been exiled with Zod before the invasion and hadn't witnessed it firsthand.
Supergirl was different. She'd been there. If you didn't count the Kryptonians trapped inside Kandor, she was the sole surviving eyewitness.
The memories were vivid. Brainiac had descended like some colossal demon, seizing an entire city. She'd felt uneasy, and above all, terrified.
Back then, Brainiac had piloted his enormous mechanical body into Krypton's orbit. With a sweep of his hand he'd swatted every line of resistance from the sky, then plucked Kandor from the planet's surface—the cradle city of Kryptonian civilization.
And yet it was precisely because of that demon that Kandor and its hundred thousand inhabitants had survived Krypton's destruction. Supergirl honestly couldn't say whether that was a blessing or a curse.
"Not everyone wants to go flying around performing superhuman feats," Thea continued. "Most of them just want to live their lives. They don't deserve to stay bottled up."
Supergirl nodded vigorously. She was one of those people who just wanted a quiet life.
"Fine. I'll wish the Kryptonian people well. But those few hundred warriors—what about them? What if some of them decide to conquer Earth?" Batman had watched the estimated enemy count shrink from a hundred thousand to a few hundred, yet he still wasn't satisfied. Not remotely. He couldn't shake the feeling that Thea was playing with fire.
Faora let out a quiet scoff but said nothing. She knew someone else would jump in.
Right on cue, Supergirl glared at Batman. "Krypton doesn't have people like that! We never conquer other planets. We only help them."
"Earth doesn't need your help!" Batman didn't give an inch.
Superman hurried to separate his cousin and his best friend. He was equally afraid of Supergirl punching Batman and Batman slipping Supergirl a chunk of kryptonite.
Thea watched the squabble with undisguised amusement. Once things settled down, she continued. "You're all familiar with the Green Lantern Corps, right? They're still dealing with internal disputes, and their numbers have dropped sharply after several crises. So I'm planning to—"
"So you're planning to have Kryptonians help maintain universal peace? That's a great idea!" Superman beamed.
Thea promptly doused his enthusiasm. "It can't be the whole universe. You're too dependent on stellar energy, and not every star out there is compatible. Jor-El ran a complex series of calculations before sending you to Earth. Not all stars can provide what you need."
"Some are in decline. Others don't match your genome. And there are plenty of red stars out there. So Kryptonians can only serve as a supplement to the Green Lantern Corps. What I have in mind is two teams: they monitor each other, push each other, and together maintain peace across the universe."
The proposal aligned neatly with mainstream values on this side. Superman kept nodding in agreement, and even Batman couldn't come up with an objection.
"Where are you planning to put New Krypton? If it's too far away..." Supergirl was still thinking about her loved ones. She wanted to be able to visit anytime, but she also couldn't bear to leave behind the people she cared about on Earth. The conflict was tearing her apart.
"Easy. Same orbit as Earth, on the opposite side of the Sun. Two co-orbital planets revolving around a single star."
Batman's face went dark. After all that discussion, a hundred thousand Kryptonians were right back in the neighborhood. You couldn't put them a little farther away?
"Relax. We can give them the freedom to choose. If they want to defend justice, they can absorb stellar energy. If they'd rather live as ordinary people, I can rewrite their genetic code."
"Besides, Kryptonian civilization has critical technological gaps. They'll be building from scratch on a barren world. The future Kryptonians won't be a threat. If anything, I'm more worried about Earth's opportunists picking fights with them."
"I'll be the bridge between both sides," Superman said.
"Me too..." Supergirl added emphatically.
"All right. Looking at the three of you, I take it you've all chosen the second option?" Thea's gaze swept across each face in turn. All three nodded simultaneously.
What was done was done. Wipe their memories and send them back? Would they even still be themselves? Without exception, all three chose to keep living the lives they had.
"The trip's a bit of a haul. Everyone, prepare for combat. There's roughly an eighty percent chance Brainiac won't surrender, so I'll need you to fight." Thea had no intention of joining the battle herself. Sitting back and watching other people slug it out was rather pleasant, actually.
The three Kryptonians accepted this without question. It was their business, after all.
Batman nodded matter-of-factly and prepared to go with them. Seeing him resolved to tag along with three Kryptonians and farm experience, Thea didn't stop him. If he wanted to go, so be it.
The world blurred around them, and they materialized inside a structure brimming with advanced technology. Countless wires and mechanical equipment lined the walls. The ceiling soared over ten meters overhead, and the vast space was eerily silent. Apart from their own breathing, there wasn't a sound.
A suffocating stillness pressed in on all of them.
Thea acted as if nothing was wrong and broke the silence, pointing left. "This way."
She strolled ahead casually. The others followed, and Faora scanned their surroundings. "There's lead in the walls. It's blocking my vision."
"It's not just lead. There's plenty of tech hardware too. That thing above us looks like a tracking alarm. That odd device up ahead seems to be scanning us. And there's..." Batman quickly identified several anomalies.
The implication was clear: they'd been detected.