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(Jon's P.O.V)
The farm still smelled like burnt earth and ozone a day later.
Even though the fires were out and the Parademons' bodies had turned to dust, the damage felt deeper than what you could see.
Desaad was dead. Kara had made sure of that in a fit of uncontrollable rage.
But the war wasn't over. If anything, it had just started.
I couldn't let us stay vulnerable.
Soon after, I called the Team.
We spent the next twenty-four hours hunting down the remaining Parademons in Metropolis and Gotham, wiping out whatever was left of Desaad's forces. The fights were quick, brutal and necessary.
But cleaning up only did so much.
The public had noticed. News outlets were buzzing about the sudden appearance of alien invaders and the "mysterious young heroes" who fought them off. Speculation was everywhere.
For now, it didn't matter. I needed answers.
I left Raven and the team to finish up rescue operations and headed to Gotham.
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Victor Stone's eyes were wide, his mouth hanging open as he pointed at the S symbol on my chest in disbelief.
"Wait. Wait. Wait. You're Superman's son? And you've been sitting next to me in algebra this whole time?"
I smirked, leaning casually against the lab table. "Surprise."
Victor ran a hand down his face, muttering something about "living in a comic book." Then he shook his head, refocusing. "Okay, okay. So what's the emergency?"
"First, thanks for agreeing to meet up Vic." I said while reaching into the leather jacket over my costume to pull out the remains of Desaad's Fatherbox.
The Apokoliptian tech was cracked and sparking, its dark metal occasionally pulsing with leftover crimson energy. I set it down on the table in front of him.
"As for the emergency, you're looking at it." I motioned to the device. "This thing was in the hands of the aliens who invaded Metropolis and Gotham. I need your dad's help to know why."
Victor's curiosity overpowered his shock, and he leaned in to inspect it. "Damn. It looks like alive."
"It was," I confirmed. "And I need to know why it came here."
Victor gave me one last incredulous look before waving for me to follow. "Alright. Come on. My dad's in the main lab. I'll introduce you."
We walked past several research stations of the Gotham Star Labs branch, the hum of high-tech machinery filling the air.
When we reached the main lab, Dr. Silas Stone was hunched over a holographic display, his fingers moving swiftly across a glowing interface.
Victor cleared his throat. "Hey, Dad. We've got a situation."
Silas barely glanced up at first, his mind still focused on whatever data was in front of him. "Victor, unless this is an emergency—"
"It is an emergency," Victor interrupted, nodding toward me. "Trust me, you're gonna want to hear this."
Silas's eyes finally landed on me, scrutinizing for a second before shifting to the cracked Fatherbox in my hands. His expression changed from mild annoyance to intrigue.
"Jon aka Superboy." I introduced myself, stepping forward.
Silas raised an eyebrow. "Superboy, huh? Any relation to—"
"Superman," Victor cut in. "He's Superman's son."
Silas blinked. "Well. That explains the cape."
I set the Fatherbox down on the table. "I need your expertise, sir. This belonged to an alien scientist called Desaad. He and a horde of Parademons attacked my home. I want to know why."
Silas's sharp gaze moved between me and the device. Without hesitation, he reached for a scanning instrument and began running it over the remains of the Apokoliptian tech.
"The energy signature is unlike anything I've ever seen," he muttered, eyes narrowing at the readings. "It's almost… sentient."
"It was sentient," I corrected. "And I suspect it was tracking something."
Silas frowned. "Tracking what, exactly?"
In response, I reached into my pocket and retrieved my Motherbox. The golden cube hummed as soon as it sensed the broken Fatherbox, almost like it was responding to its dead counterpart. "Maybe this can help."
Silas's eyes widened slightly. "Incredible." He hesitated before asking, "May I?"
I exhaled, handing it over reluctantly. "Be careful. It has a personality."
Silas chuckled as he examined the cube. "I've studied some alien technology before, but nothing quite like this. The energy readings are off the charts…"
He worked quickly, linking the Motherbox and Fatherbox to the Star Labs interface, scanning the data embedded in both. His eyes flicked between the holograms as numbers and symbols scrolled past at speeds only someone like him could decipher.
Then he stopped, brow furrowing.
"There," he said, pointing at a specific data stream. "The Fatherbox was indeed tracking something. And that something is this." He tapped the glowing projection of my Motherbox. "Your device left an energy residue strong enough for Desaad's technology to follow. That's how they found you."
They must have picked up on the Boom Tube Raven and I used to get to our date on Adamo 2. That's another thing on me.
I nodded slowly, my suspicions confirmed. "Can you retrace the signal? Find out where it came from?"
Silas's fingers flew over the keyboard. The hologram shifted, displaying a vast star map—one that suddenly glitched.
Victor's eyes narrowed. "What was that?"
Silas adjusted the readings, frowning deeply. "The coordinates in the Fatherbox are incomplete. It's not in the known universe. It's… somewhere else. Perhaps a pocket dimension, accessible only through specific Boom Tube signatures keyed in the system."
I clenched my jaw. Of course it wouldn't be that easy.
"But," Silas continued, his tone thoughtful, "if I can extract the Fatherbox's navigation history, I might be able to use the Motherbox and reverse-engineer the pathway to pinpoint the exact coordinates of...heh, what was it again"
"Apokolips." I replied on a slow exhale, my grip tightening on the table.
The Motherbox was a powerful tool—one I wasn't eager to part with. But if it meant finding Apokolips, permanently stopping Darkseid, and preventing another attack, then I had no choice.
"Do it," I said finally. "But be careful. If they find out we have this, someone more dangerous than Desaad will come for it."
Silas nodded, his expression serious. "Understood."
Victor crossed his arms, still looking at me like he was trying to reconcile the fact that the guy who sat next to him in class was casually talking about interdimensional war.
"You really live in a different world, man."
I sighed. "Yeah. And it's only getting crazier."
(General P.O.V)
-Apokalips-
The ever-present fires of the planet cast long shadows through the obsidian throne room.
The flames danced against the colossal form seated upon the throne—Darkseid, unmoving, his crimson gaze fixed upon the two figures kneeling before him.
Steppenwolf and Granny Goodness, 2 of the 4 generals had their heads bowed in reverence, awaiting his word.
Finally, Darkseid spoke, his voice a low, rolling thunder that sent vibrations through the metal floor beneath them. "DESAAD IS DEAD."
Steppenwolf's grip on the pommel of his weapon tightened.
"Slain by humans," he sneered. "Weak, fleeting creatures. Allow me, my Lord. I will descend upon their world and remind them what it means to defy Apokolips. Their suffering will be legendary."
Beside him, Granny Goodness let out a sharp, mocking laugh. "Oh, how brave you are, dear Steppenwolf. Leaving the main bulk of our forces to claim a single planet? And for what? Vengeance? Was Desaad your secret lover?" She cackled, her cruel eyes glinting in the firelight. "Do not waste Lord Darkseid's armies for something so trivial as revenge. Punishment on the other hand..."
She raised her head to meet Darkseid's terrible gaze.
"The humans will not stand against my Furies, Lord. Let me go to Earth, and I will break them, body and soul. The rock they call home will run red with rivers of blood."
Darkseid remained silent for a long moment, his gaze fixed on the Morbius chair hidden under veils of invisibility and the New God on it, watching and listening-chronicling the events leading to the culmination of Darkseid's ultimate purpose:- the Anti-life equation.
The silence was oppressive, heavy with unspoken judgment.
Then, slowly, his eyes flared brighter. "DESAAD'S FAILURE IS PROOF THAT EARTH IS NOT WITHOUT ITS CHAMPIONS," he said. "CHAMPIONS THAT MAY YET PROVE USEFUL IN TESTING THE OBEDIENCE OF OUR NEWEST ALLY."
His gaze shifted to Steppenwolf. "RECALL KALIBAK FROM THE FRONT LINES. HE WILL REMAIN HERE TO PREPARE. IN THE MEANTIME, SEND MONGUL AND HIS WARWORLD TO EARTH."
Steppenwolf bowed deeply, his voice firm. "As you command, my Lord."
Darkseid's lips curled into something that might have been a smirk. "THEIR ENTIRE STAR SYSTEM WILL BELONG TO ME WITHIN A MONTH. JUST IN TIME TO PRESENT THE REMAINS OF THEIR WORLD TO THIS SO-CALLED JUSTICE LEAGUE AIDING THE GUARDIANS."
Granny Goodness chuckled darkly, her grin wide and merciless. "The mortals will learn the true meaning of fear. That now and forever more, DARKSEID IS."
(Jon's P.O.V)
A few weeks later, I stood in front of the newest addition to my growing operation. My new team's base—what had once been LexCorp Tower.
The skyscraper had been completely remodeled, its sleek glass panels reflecting the evening sun, but the most prominent change was the large El insignia now emblazoned on the building's front.
This wasn't just a new base—it was a message. One of hope. In these uncertain times, when the people looked to the skies for the figure of my father, they would see the large S on the tallest building in Metropolis and be reassuared.
It wasn't open yet, as modifications were still ongoing but it didn't stop the crowd of press behind the security barricade on the street, from snapping pictures and taking videos of us standing before the entrance.
Supergirl crossed her arms, tilting her head as she looked up at the El tower? Supertower? I was undecided on the name. "You bought this?"
I smirked. "Yep."
She narrowed her eyes. "How?"
Instead of answering, I gestured for her and Raven to follow me in. "Come on. I'll show you."
The three of us entered, stepped into the ground floor elevator but instead of pressing up or down, I rolled the base of my crystal pendant.
"Show time Gramps."
The Zeta tube network installed across the whole building activated, and in a flash of blue light, we materialized inside the Fortress of Solitude.
The sight that greeted them was something most people—most Kryptonians, even—would never witness.
The main chamber of the Fortress had been transformed into a mining operation.
Hundreds of Kelex robots hovered around a massive asteroid floating in the center of the chamber, their mechanical limbs cutting into its surface, extracting precious metals and stones.
Chunks of raw material were being refined and sorted into containers before being transported through a secondary Zeta tube system.
Raven took a slow step forward, her eyes scanning the intricate operation. "This is… unexpected."
Supergirl's brows furrowed. "Are you mining asteroids? That's what you've been up to these past weeks?"
I grinned. "Asteroids, moons, sometimes deposits on other planets in the solar system." I gestured to the sorting stations. "Kelex and his units process the material I bring in, and then we sell the refined metals through a contract with Wayne Industries."
By we, I meant grandpa Jor-el, who had struck up a friendship with Lucius Fox, Bruce's stand in.
Raven raised an eyebrow, glancing at me. "You're selling alien minerals to Bruce Wayne?"
I shrugged. "He was more than happy to help—offered me a discount on the base renovations, too."
Supergirl just shook her head, a small, amused grin forming. "You're full of surprises, nephew."
I smirked. "I try."
We spent the next few hours touring the new base.
The training facilities were cutting-edge, the living quarters spacious, and the command center was stocked with the latest technology money—or in this case, asteroids—could buy.
We also had access to Lex's underground complex of evil genius labs and vaults, though the latter had been cleared by the Government.
Everything was set. We were ready.
The only thing left was to find more team members and do our best to increase our strength.
Because no matter how much I prepared, a nagging thought lingered at the back of my mind:
Was it going to be enough?
That thought was cut short by a desperate call from Silas Stone.
Apparently, Victor had had an accident and died. Desperate and grieving, Silas had done the unthinkable...he'd brought him back using the Motherbox. But the process had gone wrong.
Instead of merely healing his flesh, the Motherbox had merged with his body, reconstructing vic into a human and machine lifeform.
Cyborg was here. And yes, that too was on me.