Darkseid's vision might stretch far, but it could not reach into the inner world of Abin Sur.
After speaking with Bize, and realizing how serious the situation was, he quickly boarded his ship and headed for the jump point near Mars.
But when he arrived, all he found was the small spacecraft Bize had left behind.
Abin Sur furrowed his brow—such as it was, without eyebrows—then walked over to Bize's ship and gently cupped the volleyball-sized vessel in his hands.
The next moment, a beam of light burst from Bize's ship, enveloping Abin entirely.
After the scanning system had thoroughly swept over Abin, the ship emitted a mechanical voice.
"Abin, it's Bize. This problem is serious.
I've got two Kryptonians with me, so I can only play along for now and leave this message for you when I get the chance.
Listen—I didn't know how far Kryptonians who've lost their homeworld could go. They've actually set their sights on Mogo.
The most important part is, they've already succeeded. Without Mogo's permission, no one could have moved her from Sector 2261 to 2814!
As for that person's identity, I'm basically certain now—a genuine New God has appeared among the Kryptonians. I can tell from the micro-expressions of the Kryptonian with me.
To keep them pacified, I'll go with them to Earth for a spin first. If by the time you get here, I'm already dead, the ship will turn red!
If the ship turns red, my friend, don't grieve for me. Get out of the solar system immediately, go to Oa and bring reinforcements!
I've lived long enough. I don't mind using everything I've got to show this Kryptonian god what it means to be truly formidable!
Don't cry for me, my friend…"
As the message reached that point, the entire ship suddenly turned red.
Seeing this, Abin's purple face instantly went green.
"BIZE!!!"
He let out a grief-stricken cry, tears already sliding from the corners of his eyes. As one of the few old friends in the Green Lantern Corps, Abin and Bize were the kind of close who could joke about each other's wives.
Comparable to Degang and Uncle Yu.
Not blood brothers, but closer than blood brothers!
Receiving the news of Bize's death, a storm of emotions surged through Abin's heart. Too many thoughts tangled together—he could no longer control his expression.
He clutched Bize's small ship, holding it tightly to his chest, and immediately prepared to return to his own ship, then head back to Oa to gather troops and avenge Bize—
"You went to get help, didn't you? Heh heh heh, I knew you'd do that!
You don't even have the courage to charge into Earth alone and avenge me!
You coward, hahahaha!"
Before Abin could move, Bize's ship transmitted the next part of the message.
"Relax, that was just a joke. The Kryptonian with me is the Kal-El you once mentioned to me.
I can tell—he's a good man. As long as he's even one-tenth as good as you described, I definitely won't die on Earth.
Anyway, I'm heading out first. Come find me on Earth.
See you soon, buddy.
One last thing—I fooled you again, you old bastard, ahahahaha!!!"
Along with Bize's ear-piercing laughter, the tears brimming in Abin's eyes suddenly found themselves in an extremely awkward position.
Abin gritted his teeth and wiped away the tears, then shot toward Earth at full speed.
This time, he didn't just want to know what had happened to Mogo.
He also wanted to give that damn bee a proper beating!
Little bee!
If I don't loosen up your bones, you'll really think I'm easy to mess with!!!
...
Meanwhile, on Paradise Island, Diana finally emerged from her daze.
She looked toward Metropolis and drew a deep breath.
But before she could speak, Cyborg beside her couldn't help but chime in first.
"I can make out what that is—it's actually a planet, roughly 5,500 kilometers in diameter!"
As his words faded, Flash finally snapped out of his trance. He wiped the drool that had accumulated from his blank staring and asked in disbelief.
"If Darkseid one day throws a planet at us too, we…"
His voice trailed off. Flash fell silent for a long moment. When he realized no one around him was answering, he had no choice but to answer himself.
"I mean, Heisenberg is just way too strong. If even he has to be cautious of Darkseid, then Darkseid must be at least on that level.
He hauled back a planet today—so would Darkseid just hurl one at us?!
I can't even imagine how fast I'd have to run to change a fate like that.
Seeing what he did today, I suddenly feel kind of redundant, because there's nothing I can do against something like that!
I…"
"Enough, Barry. Now is not the time for you to ramble!"
Diana cut off the Flash's rapid-fire mouth, then shook her head gently.
"No matter what, we're on the same side now. If Darkseid truly has the same level of power as Heisenberg, then at least we have Heisenberg to block that!
As for us—you, me—we each have our own duties!
Darkseid is bound not to fight alone, so we will be the sword and shield at Heisenberg's side. If we're destined to stay out of their battlefield, then at the very least we can keep Darkseid's underlings from harassing Heisenberg!"
Hearing Diana say this, Arthur, who had been endlessly munching on fruit nearby, let out a chuckle.
He opened his big mouth wide, letting juice run down his beard as he spoke with disdain.
"I really don't get what you all are so worked up about. As for me, I was dragged here by several million dollars slapping me in the face.
So I couldn't care less how strong the enemy is. If we can't beat them, can't we just go fight the bastards anyway?
The strong ones have stronger teammates to handle them. We just do our own jobs well, right?
What a hassle!"
As Arthur spoke, he shook his head dismissively. At the same time, Diana, expressionless, gave the Lasso of Truth a subtle twist.
A moment later, Arthur's head spun, and he continued speaking.
"As for the worry and fear you all talk about—damn it, I'm scared too! But I took the money. Amnesty Bay still needs that cash to repair the old harbor!
As for fighting, I'll just find a safe spot and fight enemies that suit me, right?
Not every one of them can have Superman's kind of strength, can they?
I can't beat Superman, but at least I can take on someone like Diana, heh…
Let alone Victor—with that naive streak of yours, even now I could take you apart dozens of times over.
As for Barry, damn, I've got to admit it—you're too fast!
But do you really think being fast is a good thing for a man?
And come on, even a weakling like Bruce has the nerve to stand with us. Where do you think he gets the courage—some singer from China gave it to him?
Heh…"
At this point, Arthur started glancing around unnaturally.
"Something's really off. Why the hell am I talking like this again?
Diana, you slut with your eyes glued to Heisenberg—did you go and throw that damn chain of yours on me again?
What a load of crap. Why don't you try lassoing Heisenberg with that thing? Maybe he'd actually say something you want to hear. Damn it!"
Arthur irritably tossed off the lasso coiled around his calf, then looked at everyone with a face full of frustration.
Facing the group's expressions—as if they were looking at a dead man—Arthur swallowed hard.
After a long moment, when he noticed Diana's gaze growing increasingly murderous, he helplessly rubbed his head.
"I told you there wasn't a single normal person in this place. Can you tie that chain somewhere else and stop always picking on me?!!!"
As soon as Arthur finished, the furious Diana wrapped the lasso directly around the Flash.
"How do you feel, Barry!"
Diana asked coldly. Barry jolted, then hurriedly answered.
"It's pretty interesting. Everyone here is pretty interesting. Heisenberg is very handsome, Diana is very beautiful, you two are perfect together…
No, no, I mean—everyone here speaks so wonderfully. I really love it here. Working is impossible for me; only being a hero makes life barely livable!
But the Amazon women seem a little too enthusiastic. It's hard for me.
Oh, you all don't know this, but the first time I met Heisenberg, I saved a really beautiful girl, and I fell in love with her!
I have someone I like, and the Amazon women are all so gorgeous. I'm very uneasy, so could you keep them away from me?"
"Stop talking about this nonsense. Tell us about Earth!"
Diana said coldly.
Hearing this, Flash jolted again and quickly answered.
"I seem to have the power to reverse the future. If Earth is going to lose, I'll save it with my life.
His Excellency Heisenberg really seems like a great person. Even though he's a bit fierce in battle, he's also really handsome!
I'm so envious that Clark has an elder like him.
It's just that thinking about how Darkseid might be as strong as His Excellency makes me a little worried for him. Even if he wins, he'd still get hurt, wouldn't he…"
As his words faded, Diana withdrew the lasso and instead wrapped it around Victor.
But Victor merely shook his head.
"I'm just a machine with a soul. This thing won't work on me!"
"Oh? Whether it works or not isn't up to you. Now answer me—how do you feel?"
Diana continued. Cyborg answered her question immediately.
"I find it rather interesting. The lasso seems to bring back many things I had almost forgotten.
But beyond that, it cannot influence my thoughts, because I can alter the lasso's mechanism by changing my core cognition.
For example, if I set my system so that the Diana I see is a man—
So…"
She looked seriously at Diana, then said flatly.
"Diana is a man, and Arthur is a woman. I am not lying.
Because after I modify my perception, the people I see are exactly as I see them. So this thing is useless on me—I can change my core cognition at any time!"
As she finished, Cyborg handed the lasso back to Diana.
Immediately after, Diana turned back and continued glaring viciously at Arthur.
Under that glare, Arthur shuddered from head to toe.
He waved his hands and explained helplessly.
"Alright, alright, it was my problem. I admit it…"
Having said that, Arthur spread his hands with an awkward grin and quipped.
"Don't give me that cold face, okay? Worst case, I'll let you kill me a few times. How about it?"
"I couldn't be bothered…"
Diana was about to answer when a voice in her ear stopped her mid-sentence.
At the same time, every member of the Justice League heard Heisenberg's voice.
"Ahem, this is Heisenberg. I just hauled over a planet to rebuild my divine realm and our base.
Tonight, I'll invite everyone back to visit our new planet. You can bring your relatives and friends.
For example, interested warriors from Paradise Island, or Mera's stubborn clansmen.
That's all."
As the message ended, Diana was momentarily speechless. And far away across the sea, Mera cast a deep glance at the Kryptonian military commander, Fiona, standing beside her.
/-\
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