Inside the Justice League Watchtower, the atmosphere existed in a strange superposition between tension and calm.
The tension came from the fact that the Kryptonian guards behind Jor-El—led by Faora-Ul—were locked in a silent standoff against Cyborg and Hawkgirl behind Batman.
Kryptonians.
Apokoliptian technology.
Thanagarian hawk warriors.
Over the past decade, at least fifty-two percent of the universe's bloodshed could somehow be traced back to one of those three.
Even if the Apokoliptian machine and the Thanagarian present here did not actually know that statistic, it did not stop them from assuming the absolute worst about the Kryptonians standing before them.
Starfire remained unconscious after losing her right arm.
Cyborg had already sent several drones to carry her into the medical bay for treatment.
At the very least, he was grateful that the Kryptonian she-devil on the other side had struck cleanly and efficiently. The severed cross-section of Starfire's arm was smooth enough that, with the Watchtower's medical technology, there was a very high chance it could still be reattached successfully.
Cyborg was probably one of the first people to learn about whatever complicated relationship existed between Superman and Starfire.
And now?
He genuinely had no idea how things were supposed to end once Superman returned and saw this mess.
At the moment, Cyborg was practically the living embodiment of multitasking.
On one hand, he had to control his main body while dedicating enormous processing power to operating microsecond-level sensors, constantly monitoring the Kryptonians in case any of them moved.
On another, he was remotely operating several drones to care for Wonder Woman, Supergirl, and Starfire while simultaneously trying to reconnect Starfire's severed arm as quickly as possible. Every extra second of delay increased the risk of irreversible damage.
And finally—and most importantly—he was still busy purging the Kryptonian AI that had infiltrated the Watchtower's systems.
The invisible cyberwar raging across digital space was by far the hardest part.
Even though both the Watchtower and Earth's entire network infrastructure were technically his home turf, the process was anything but easy.
Fortunately, the Kryptonians did not seem to have noticed what he was doing yet.
Because at the moment, their leader was apparently having an excellent conversation with Batman.
And that was precisely why the situation somehow did not feel quite as tense as it should have.
Seated casually on the floor, Jor-El seemed to be thoroughly enjoying his discussion with Bruce Wayne.
He found the human before him—wrapped head to toe in lead-lined armor—to possess an almost absurd level of knowledge regarding Krypton.
"Exactly! Nightwing truly was a lonely shadow god, doomed to spend his entire existence hunting evil..."
Jor-El laughed loudly, acting as though the fact that one of the people present had tried to kill him moments earlier was utterly insignificant.
As he looked at Bruce, his eyes were filled with genuine curiosity.
"It is fascinating. I never imagined someone could know Kryptonian mythology this well. Even modern Kryptonians barely remember anyone besides the sun god Rao."
Batman, meanwhile, had absolutely no intention of explaining where he had acquired all this knowledge.
He simply answered calmly:
"Just happen to know a thing or two about it."
At the moment, the Nightwing they were discussing was very much not Dick Grayson.
What Batman and Jor-El were talking about was Kryptonian mythology.
The stories of how the sun god Rao created the god of creation, how that being shaped Krypton itself, and how the twin deities Nightwing and Flamebird came to dwell upon the planet.
The name Nightwing originally came from Kryptonian myth.
And Batman's understanding of all this came from Clark Kent.
Once upon a time, Bruce and Clark really had been the kind of partners who could talk about absolutely anything.
"So," Jor-El asked with growing interest, "what else do you know, young man?"
Facing the question, Batman's brain began working at full speed as he desperately searched for another topic to steer the conversation toward.
During the exchange, he had already realized that Jor-El possessed an almost obsessive fascination with Kryptonian mythology, so Bruce had intentionally continued dragging the conversation deeper into that subject to stall for time.
But by now, Batman was running out of material.
Even if the Clark Kent from his own universe had spent everyday telling him Kryptonian bedtime stories, there was no way it would have been enough to sustain this conversation forever.
At this point, there was only one mythological tale left he had not yet brought up—
A story about a god of darkness and cold...
"I can tell you're still hiding one story I haven't heard yet."
Jor-El casually glanced toward Cyborg behind Batman.
That single glance instantly caused every sensor in Cyborg's body to erupt with screaming warnings.
"Well, don't keep me waiting."
Kryptonian super-vision was never limited to simple X-ray vision.
For Cyborg, reclaiming control of the Watchtower's teleportation system was an invisible war fought in cyberspace.
But for Jor-El—someone capable of seeing every proton and every beam of light—it was all happening right in front of his eyes.
"Stranger from another universe," Jor-El said calmly, "before your friend regains control of the teleportation system and escapes with all of you… go on and finish your story."
Cyborg's covert actions had been seen through completely.
Jor-El had even more or less guessed what he was planning next.
In fact, he was kind enough to offer advice.
"I suggest you do not abandon this station," Jor-El said mildly. "If you stay here, you only need to deal with a harmless old man like me."
"But once you step outside… what Earth will have to face is the cruelty of the entire universe."
Sweat immediately began pouring down Cyborg's forehead.
The threat in those words could not have been more obvious.
Trying to retake control of the teleportation system and open a portal to escape had only been a rough plan with less than a forty-two percent success rate.
He had not even fully decided whether to attempt something that reckless.
"Allow me to teach you something, child."
It was as though Jor-El had directly read his thoughts.
So he simply said them out loud.
"The next time you think about things like this, use the slower half of your brain. Biological electrical signals may be inefficient, but their patterns are far harder to analyze and predict than the pulse frequencies of an electronic brain."
...Oh.
The moment Jor-El explained it, Cyborg immediately understood.
The man really had read his mind.
By observing the pulse frequencies from the electronic side of his brain, Jor-El had deduced exactly what he was thinking.
Was that even scientifically possible?!
Next time, Cyborg swore to himself, he was absolutely going to learn from Batman and line every piece of hardware on his body with lead shielding.
Jor-El's voice sounded again.
"That would also be a solution."
Shit—
Cyborg suddenly felt uncomfortable in every possible way.
It was extremely difficult to stay calm when standing in front of someone who could instantly figure out what you were thinking.
...Which immediately caused Cyborg to think of another idea.
For example, he could start mentally looping certain highly questionable 'SupermanXBatman' fanfics from AO3—stories with a reputation for being deeply harmful to teenage development.
"I strongly advise against that."
Jor-El stared at Cyborg expressionlessly.
But for the first time, Cyborg sensed actual killing intent from him.
And Jor-El seemed completely serious this time.
"Do not become the sinner responsible for humanity's extinction."
"Ahem."
Batman cleared his throat and prepared to continue the story he had been stalling with—
The tale of the first and final crucial deity in Kryptonian mythology.
"In the places untouched by Rao's light and heat… within the cold and endless darkness—"
"Wait."
Jor-El slowly stood up, casually brushing dust from clothing that did not actually have any dust on it.
"Thank you for the story," he said. "But perhaps we should save the rest for next time."
He had just received a message from his niece.
His son had returned.
One second later, violent metallic tearing sounds erupted from the upper levels of the Watchtower.
Joey had literally smashed his way through the station with his own body.
But something moved even faster than the sound itself.
Joey.
And his fist.
Behind him, Kara was desperately grabbing onto the back of his red cape with all her strength, trying to hold him back.
It accomplished absolutely nothing.
Even dragging a full-grown person behind him like dead weight, Joey still exploded forward at terrifying speed.
And before anyone in the room could even react—
He threw a punch directly into Jor-El's right eye.
"You old bastard!"