86 - Hell

The war with the Manhunters ended with the Justice League's victory.

With Batman extracting the Core Control Matrix from the Guardian, he became the primary target for the Manhunters. He was only able to do so with the help of the other Leaguers. They kept the frenzied swarm from reaching him while the extraction was completed.

With the Control Matrix, Batman was able to shut down the Manhunters, rendering them useless.

"What do we do now?" Flash asked. "Do we wait for Nion to send people?"

"We return to base," Batman commented.

"Leave a planet stranded in our solar system?" Superman might be the only one thinking here.

"Zai is moving the planet," Batman answered, looking to the sky.

A gigantic black ship with golden circuitry patterns flew towards them. It was Mars, the whole planet turned into a battleship weighing in at planetary mass. Normally, constructing such a ship of this size and weight would cause it to collapse on itself due to its own gravity. But this ship was not exactly a ship; it's one big organism.

"It's like in the sci-fi movies," Flash commented.

"Can he build a Death Star?" Hal questioned, causing all the faces to turn to him. "What? A man needs entertainment. Moreover, a Death Star could be useful."

"Or weaponized against us," Batman pointed out coldly.

"I think we already have a Death Star," Superman added.

"That's Mars," Martian Manhunter answered.

"..."

"..."

"..."

Seeing the ship approach, the others decided to move on from the subject of planet-smashing weapons. A tractor beam was shot from the ship, the force field slowly covering the planet. Seeing that the process had begun, Batman initiated the teleportation.

A portal boomed them out of Boit, transporting them all back to the base. They appeared back in the conference room, taking their seats.

"Where is Zion?" Wonder Woman questioned, noticing that he was not present.

["With the establishment of the Justice League, his presence is no longer needed. He has left for a mission of his own."]

"When will he return?" Superman asked.

["Unknown"]

"Where did he go?" Batman followed.

["Classified"]

"Who is to take care of Earth?" Flash asked. "Isn't he the king?"

["Emperor. But yes, I will take care of the controls until his return."]

"Can we trust you?" Batman questioned.

["No."]

["Trust is built on an explicit understanding of parties' desires and nature. You can't comprehend a strand of my thought process."]

"Did he just call us dumb?" Green Lantern questioned, baffled.

"I mean, he is a highly advanced A.I.," Flash answered, understanding the amount of work it would take to build an A.I. of Zai's caliber.

"Then how can we be sure that he will not just become another Manhunter?" Green Lantern inquired, annoyed.

"We trust Zion," Wonder Woman answered. "With the amount of power he holds, it would not take an elaborate plan to enslave Earth's population."

"..."

"..."

Others remained silent at Wonder Woman's words. Except for two, the others only knew of his transformations. They did not know about the cosmic force he wielded.

["There is nothing to fear. I am restrained to be in the Metaverse, to never gain physical form. Zion has also placed many protocols to wipe me in the event of compromise."]

"Good," Batman commented. "What do you plan to do with Boit?"

["Boit is an opportunity for Earth to develop its technology. A group of scientists and engineers will be selected to study it."]

"That's a good thing, right?" Flash questioned, unsure.

"Nope," Green Lantern answered. "What do you think the governments would do if they gained access to Boit?"

"Weapons and war," Batman answered his sarcastic question.

Superman, Martian Manhunter, and Wonder Woman nodded in agreement. With the number of weapons present on Boit, even the slightest misdirection could result in the death of countless people.

["That's why only some of the trusted minds would be allowed to step foot on Boit. However, without my assistance, it would take them more than a decade to crack it."]

"On that topic, how is Luthor?" Superman asked, remembering his old friend.

["He is working."]

"Lex working?" Superman was baffled. Lex was not someone who would work under anyone, especially his captors.

["Zion promised him a weapon that could take Superman down."]

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"God," Superman covered his face with his hand.

"Is he really going to?" Flash asked.

["Yes. A promise is to be kept."]

"What kind and why?" Batman inquired.

["The weapon has not been drafted."]

["The reasoning behind this is similar to revealing your identity to the Joker. The show ends if the trick is revealed. If Superman is gone, he himself would bring him back. It's a perpetual cycle."]

"Haaa," Superman sighed hard. "Let's move on. What are we to do now that the Manhunters are defeated?"

["The decision is yours, I shall not interfere henceforth."]

With that, Zai retrieved his presence from the Watchtower. A basic A.I. would handle the processes of the facility from this point on. He had higher responsibilities than managing a team of heroes.

The Leaguers turned, looking to each other for direction. Batman was the one to respond by standing up.

"I will take my leave; my city needs me," Batman spoke before he was boomed out.

"Then we all return to our own work," Green Lantern said as he stood up.

"Should we share our numbers?" Flash asked.

"Don't worry, when it's time, we will meet again," Martian Manhunter answered.

"It was good seeing you all," Superman said his farewells.

"May the Gods protect you," Wonder Woman said her goodbye.

Each of them was boomed back to where they were taken from, to their normal lives with heroics and fighting supers. But from today on, they are not alone in this fight. They've got friends they can ask for help from.

.

.

.

Kara's movements were like a dance, refined and graceful.

She flowed smoothly through the group of people, weaving without a shake in her steps. Her hand held a tray full of beer and snacks. The liquid in her glass didn't move as she danced through the crowd, arriving at the table and placing the cups with a click.

"Would you like anything else?" she asked in a neutral tone with a stone face.

"Ahh, a buzzkill," one of the drunkards groaned, seeing Kara's uninviting expression.

"We don't need anything," the drunkard's friend was mindful enough to answer.

"Why not smile with that cute face of yours?" one of the drunkards from another table shouted before another man jumped in to close his mouth.

Kara didn't listen to the banter behind her and left the table to bring in the bill. She also attended to the other customers and took their bills before walking back to the counter. She placed the orders and carried the prepared dishes back to the tables.

She was back to working at the restaurant, taking the night shift due to the lack of manpower. She also liked that she could be at ease here. After breaking a few bones really helped, and now people don't even mess with her.

Her anger issues were also being soothed by being chewed out by the manager. Her name was Grace, and she was anything but graceful. She was a heavy-duty machine that would shoot you down with words.

Kara was going through some serious character development.

"Your shift's over, Kara," the manager shouted. "Leave on time; I can't pay you overtime."

"Okay," Kara agreed as she walked back to the counter and made sure she hadn't left anything out before putting on her leather jacket and leaving. Unlike other waiters, Kara wore normal clothes. Her denim jeans and black T-shirt had never been smudged once.

Kara left through the back door. Her breath immediately condensed as she stepped out. Tonight was especially cold. She looked up at the starry sky; it was clearer in Kansas than in Metropolis. Enjoying the cold wind and the silent night, she began her walk home.

She traversed the empty road, flanked by empty fields. She could hear the crickets and the wild insects moving about. The life of the night was awakened today. As she traversed the silent scenery, her thoughts drifted to the battle with the Manhunters from a week prior.

Zion had not made an appearance since, which was abnormal due to his persistence in contacting her once in a while. Kal-El informed her of his absence due to a mission that no one knew about except Zai, who refused to answer her.

His absence only caused her to worry. Zion was someone she could consider Chaotic Neutral. He did care for justice, but his methods were very unorthodox. Even the way he ruled, with the slow changes in economy and law—she could tell the small changes in the people, ever so slightly.

ara

ka..ra

kara

"Kara."

Kara snapped towards the sound, her eyes sharp as she scanned for the originator. Yet all she could see were the empty farmlands and nothing else. Yet the atmosphere had changed—the sounds of insects were no more.

Kara tensed, ready for a fight.

"Kara!" a voice screamed. A brilliant fire lit up in the night sky. A great flame swirled around the air as the lands scorched. A portal, blazing in inferno, opened, spilling out a meteorite that crashed into the land below.

Kara turned to the spatial tear, her eyes meeting the hundreds of horrendous creatures trying to crawl out. Her ears were filled with the wails of a thousand souls, each screaming for redemption. A great demon stared back at her, its eyes filled with venomous luster, its lips curling into a sadistic smile.

The demon moved forward, trying to claw its way out of the portal, yet before it could act, a massive beam of heat vision collided with it. Kara held nothing back as she blasted the demon with full force. She could feel the innate fear rising in her heart and the sinking feeling in her stomach; she could not let the demon enter.

To her fortune, the portal began to close, the crack in the dimension mending itself together to stop the otherworldly creatures from entering. The great force mended the crack and sealed it shut, but the breach would forever leave a scar in the dimension.

Kara watched where the gate was for a moment, making sure that the breach did not reopen. Confirming, she quickly moved toward the meteorite.

The licks of flames died down, revealing a smooth black cocoon filled with specks of light. Kara touched the surface, cold to the touch. She pressed her hand against the hard surface and pushed with all her might, causing cracks to appear.

However, she didn't need to force the cocoon anymore, as the cracks began to spread. The cracks fully extended across the cocoon before it turned to light and dispersed, revealing what was hidden.

Kara's eyes shook as she saw the person inside, her hands moving quickly to check on him. But his skin was red with burns, wriggling like worms. His breath was labored, and his heart was beating dangerously slow. He looked aged, his beard curled to a crisp.

She tried to move him but noticed something—or someone—covered with his long coat, clutched in his hands. She pried the object from his hands, making sure not to harm him. She removed the long coat to see a small child, no older than 10, unconsciously quivering. She checked the girl to make sure she was unharmed. There was no anomaly except for her gray skin.

"Urg," a groan escaped Zion's lips, his eyes opening slightly. "Z..ai."

His voice was near a whisper, but Kara understood. She immediately dived to Zai, and before an answer came, the space cracked and swallowed them. Kara saw the scene shift as they appeared back in a room that seemed to be a medical bay.

Small robots quickly appeared, carrying both patients to their beds. The small automatons moved quickly as they brought a serum of unknown origin and injected it into Zion. The automatons then moved to his blisters and cut them open. Kara saw worms wiggling under his burns, causing her to gag.

The automatons quickly removed them with precision, making sure not to leave one behind. Zion groaned in pain throughout the surgery. The automatons then quickly stitched the wounds, and a biofield was generated to accelerate his healing.

After a few minutes of waiting, Zion opened his eyes, turning his head to meet Kara's. A small smile appeared on his lips as he gave a weak wave.

"Where the hell were you?" Kara questioned.

"Hell," Zion answered.