Chapter 20 - Chapter 20

Gotham

Two figures were strolling down the well-known Wayne street, bumping into passers-by every other second on their way to Gotham Hospital. Both of them were scrutinizing everything, everyone and every dilapidated building they passed. Homeless people living in cardboard boxes were set up in every alleyway and open area along the walking lane, each of them asking for money from passers-by.

Every other minute, they could hear someone scream out, 'Help me!' then followed by a flurry of events, mostly the thieves running then disappearing in between the buildings. By the time their gazes fell on the victim, the said victim was already dusting off him or herself then walk away without making another fuss.

Their attention was again drawn by two men fighting across the street. One man pulled a knife and proceeded to stab the other guy multiple times before pocketing it then walked away, leaving him convulsing on the ground. They started moving, intending to cross the road.

"Leave him be. He won't survive even if you manage to take him to the hospital." The voice in their earpiece interrupted their trajectory. "This is Gotham." They looked at each other, then across the street and true enough everyone passed his dying form, minding their own business.

They went against their instinct and continued on. Their target was supposed to be at the hospital in ten minutes time. Gotham lived up to its expectations, according to all the articles they read about it.

They watched as the target departed the hospital in her civilian clothes while talking on the phone. Anyone watching her would have no idea she was highly trained in martial arts and espionage but they were not just anyone. He could see her subtly checking whether she had a tail or not. His partner made sure she could not recognise them as they were walking behind her.

"In three..." the voice in their earpieces started the countdown.

"Two..." she was approaching the intersection where there was a faulty traffic light and pedestrians crossing the road however they wanted.

"One." He aimed and shot a tranquilizer dart at her neck which made impact and immediately the lady turned to look for whoever attacked her while she pressed a button on her watch when she noticed it was a dart.

He went into action just as the tranquilizer began to immobilise her. She threw a punch at him which he easily missed and got hold of her to support her form. His partner shielded them from everyone's gaze as she manipulated their minds.

A black van skid to a halt at the intersection and the three people piled into it before it sped off, no one the wiser.

Sector 13121

The mad titan sat on his throne with a contemplating expression upon his face. All his plans had been postponed due to the humiliating defeat his forces went through in Almerac. His daughter, Nebula, had scoured the Internet and found various news reports and videos detailing their thwarted invasion. Some were speculating it to be Apokolips because none of them had ever seen a chitauri before, thus they had no idea where they came from. Apokolips was the main suspect as again no one knew the full extent of their military forces, thus equating the chitauri to some new form of parademon. Those kinds of speculations gave him time to adjust his forces accordingly to fit this universe.

He had also ordered Nebula to conduct research on every powerful planet or race in this universe. His daughter mentioned a handful of planets that may prove difficult to invade in their current state. The first planet to be brought to his attention was Thanagar, a mighty warrior race with forces powerful enough to be feared by almost everyone, according to their recent campaigns against planet Ran. He almost equated them to the Kree Empire but their physiology far surpassed them. Everyone in the planet had wings. Their warriors clothing and weapons were made from Nth metal, which according to Nebula was the hardest metal in the universe and what they should seek in case they wanted to fortify their vessels.

Another planet Nebula brought to his attention was called Tamaran where its native citizens were also blessed with some degree of super power.

Nebula had dug up research on another race called Kryptonians who were now almost extinct when their planet exploded to smithereens. Reading about them enlightened him what he was up against especially when he saw videos of the only survivor fighting evil on earth.

The video of Superman going toe to toe with Darkseid was at the forefront of his mind. His powers were almost godly, like that of the Sentry back in their universe. Thinking of how Krypton had been home to a whole population of them was worrying. It was a good thing they were extinct.

This universe would no doubt test his skills and resolve as a war lord and titan. He would have to plan extensively to cover all his basis and create contingencies for everything.

He wasn't scared. No he wasn't. He was only worried because when he compared his army of chitauri to the others, they couldn't match up as evidenced by Almerac. They may have millions of them, but an advanced race would triumph in the end.

Darkseid was also another unknown in his plans. He was sure the dark lord knew it was him who had tried to invade Almerac because he had seen the chitauri back in Apokolips.

I must have lost a great deal of respect from that failure.

No war lord wished to be defeated and retreat in the presence of an audience composed of his rivals and potential enemies. Extensive research about Darkseid revealed him to be a god. A New God to be exact, thus put him on a whole different level than the others, than him. Thanos was a titan, one of the strongest specie in their universe and in his case, he was The Mad Titan. The only one of his kind who had special abilities and was stronger than everyone but not immortal or invulnerable. With that in mind, he knew going up against a god who can't die was not a favourable option for him so he would stay clear of the dark lord for now. Though he couldn't stop thinking about their first encounter and why Darkseid chose to direct them to their current planet. He decided they would seek a new one in case the dark lord was up to something.

All his ships were being reinforced and every chitauri was being reconditioned through their queen by The Maw to at least have a sense of fighting style. Their overwhelming numbers alone would not make a difference in this universe.

The guardians of the galaxy confiscating one of their ships was also a problem that led to them redesigning all of them. This took too much time considering they did not know where to get the necessary raw materials needed to upgrade them. This was a task his daughters had departed to do. They had gone in search of the Nth metal in a location Nebula got wind of recently. A place supposedly run and frequented by the underworld community of this universe. He had been notified that they had returned and hoped they brought good news. He still pondered on the Almerac situation.

Thanos was positive Cull Obsidian and Proxima Midnight did not expose their secrets to almerac's forces. All his children and soldiers had the same contingency in case of capture. A sort of cyanide pill hidden in one of their teeth. Had they not utilised it, their planet would have already been invaded by either Almerac or the green lanterns. That queen had the ability to extract information from anyone, according to what he read on Nebulas report.

Gamora and Nebula walked into the throne room, a couple of elite guards in toe as their escort. Security all around the planet had been upgraded and their main space ship, The Sanctuary II, was under 24 hours surveillance. They were not taking any chances.

"Father." They came to kneel down in front of the throne as the soldiers stood guard strategically around the room. Thanos looked on.

"No one knows anything about Nth metal at the asteroid." Gamora reported. They had attempted to bribe everyone who gave them a chance to inquire about it. All of the locals were tight lipped about everything. Getting themselves a drink was also hard as every establishment was wary about them asking so many questions. Nebula chalked it up to them being cross universal travellers as no one had ever seen any of their species before. They couldn't intimidate anyone like they would have done in their universe largely because their name and reputation meant nothing to the underworld society of this universe.

"I doubt they would have told us if they knew anything about it." Nebula remarked, anger in her tone. Had it been their homeworld, that asteroid would be in pieces floating about in space by now. No one showed them that level of rudeness and lived to tell about it.

Thanos was silent. He knew that failure was a possibility when he sent them out. Everyone was afraid of the unknown, even hardened criminals.

"What about Almerac?"

"There is no mention of us in any of the theories circulating around. Everything points to Darkseid." Nebula informed him. That was some positive news they could hang on. "One of our ship is in Almerac. The guardians don't have all of them."

Thanos' brow furrowed. "What else do you know?"

"The guardians of the galaxy have instructed their lantern corps to search each sector for any anomalies." Nebula reported what she intercepted being discussed in hushed tones in the asteroid. "I have notified The Maw and he is taking the necessary precautions."

"We will subdue any lantern that dares to come here." Gamora produced a tablet that was connected to their satellites in space which was constantly scanning for any foreign signatures. They were in the clear for now.

"Not you." They looked at each other.

"I am to be notified immediately." Thanos ordered. They had suffered enough setbacks as it was. He would have to handle the lantern situation himself.

"As you wish, Father."

Nebula and Gamora gazed at each other, internally debating something between them.

"Speak!" Thanos had known them long enough that all their emotions and actions were an open book to him.

"While scouring at the asteroid, we heard of the destruction of war world." Gamora informed their father.

As soon as the news broke out at the asteroid, the vibe in the air changed and everyone was on high alert. Everyone's attention was on their personal devices or whatever display tool that showcased the breaking news. Initially, they were unaware of what was transpiring and thought there was a silent auction happening but those thoughts were dispelled when Nebula tapped into a random news channels frequency. Upon a brief search of war world, they understood why its destruction came as a shock to everyone and the one responsible was Superman, originating from earth.

"What is war world?" he asked and Nebula tapped into the rooms projector and displayed everything they knew so far.

Thanos analysed everything that was projected concerning war world. Everything irked him. From what he read, he noted that Mongul was a Titan and no one had ever invaded his planet or challenged him to a fight. War world was also highly feared and was one of the few planets that the green lanterns authority was not recognised despite it being a gladiatorial planet. He could see most civilizations were celebrating its destruction at the hands of Superman while a few others merely suggested the same be done to Apokolips. That brought his thoughts to Superman and earth. Unlike their universe, the reports he's been reading about this particular earth was troubling. It was home to a number of super powered aliens making up the justice league. One of the said aliens being responsible for blowing up war world and killing Mongul. The avengers joining them only made it worse as Thor, the asgardian knew all about him and his goal.

Back in their universe, Thanos knew where some of the infinity stones were located, namely the soul stone, the space stone and the time stone.

The soul stone was hidden by Gamora when he had ordered her to track it down. She reported her mission as 'failed' but Thanos knew the truth and let it slide knowing it was safe until the time he would need it. His daughter was non the wiser thinking she fooled him.

The time stone was on earth, though he did not know the exact location or who possessed it. He let it stay there while he searched for the missing ones. He would simply decimate earth when the time came to retrieve it.

The space stone was located in Asgard, to narrow it down, it was in Odin's, the all father's, personal vault. He let it stay there because he was not ready to confront the ruler of Asgard as he knew Odin was much stronger than him given that Asgardians grew stronger with age. He was also aware that Odin knew about his quest but did nothing because he had not invaded any of the planets under Asgards protection. Thanos had 2 strategies in regards to dealing with him.

The first one being waiting him out. Odin would die sooner or later as he was way past his prime and in doing so, he would then invade Asgard to get what was his.

The second one was attacking Asgard the moment he retrieved the power stone thus Odin could not hinder his success. He knew the all father must have told his son, Thor, all about him and his goal thus in turn he could tell the justice league about him.

The justice league would be a hindrance to his plans thus they needed to be dealt with but with all these reports, it might not be as easy as dealing with the avengers.

"Whom did Mongul kidnap?" he asked as the report did not mention the person or earthling.

"It is unclear. Every one has their own theory as to who it was, some say it was an earthling while others say it was his family." Nebula explained.

"I thought he was the sole survivor of his planet."

"No father. He has a cousin who has taken up the mantle of supergirl on earth, following in his footsteps." She displayed Kara's image and everything she could get on her.

"So no one knows why he attacked War world." It was a statement. All they could do was look on as his eyes scanned the projections.

"What about the anti life equation?"

"Nothing new to report." Gamora spoke up. "No one was willing to speak about it." Some aliens turned hostile when they brought it up mid conversation at the asteroid and vacated it. That gave the two assassins an idea as to how powerful Darkseid was and the influence he commanded.

Thanos was indifferent. He knew that would happen just like in their universe where nobody wanted to mention the infinity stones lest they get the Mad Titans attention.

He continued perusing through the reports.

Themyscira

Queen Hippolyta and general Phillipus stood on a raised platform overlooking Themyscira. Every amazon had their hands full, literally speaking, as they were carrying sacks of various farm produce taking them to the granaries and stores.

They had just finished conducting the burial ceremonies of their fallen sisters. They had celebrated the whole night and well into the morning because their departed ones were in Valhalla continuing their lives as dictated by the gods.

Both of them looked at Themyscira and noted how different everything was, or should they say original. Whatever Ben did to restore the trees in their forest had extended to the entire island. Case in point the bountiful harvest they were currently occupied with which was three months early according to their calendar. Every vegetation in the island was lush green just the way they found it when the gods had first given the island to them.

Everyone had questions but the queen only clarified everything after she was sure the senate was convinced. It was easier than the time she intended to invite superman to thank him for aiding mans world during Darkseid's invasion. When the senate heard that Thor was the fabled god of thunder, they were quick to consider his visit as a sign of blessing which was further established by the bountiful harvest they were currently experiencing. They let it slide when it came to Ben because he was a personal friend to Thor, thus they would not want to incur his wrath by denouncing his friend.

"Did they really tell you to invite them back for a feast in their honour?" Phillipus couldn't believe it. She knew her friend would be scolded and probably chastised on the way she handled the invasion considering she did not return with their champion.

"Yes." Hippolyta replied, her mood had lightened significantly ever since the justice league sent word via the embassy that princess Diana was returning from her off world mission which was a success. She in turn had left a message for Diana to make sure her sister was back in Themyscira immediately they set foot on earth. "Most of them have never met a god before and would not want to pass this opportunity."

"I see. Is it because everyone else but them got to interact with him?" that was the only logical explanation for their request according to the general.

"That may be one of the reasons."

"Did they ask about the princesses?" Hippolyta had explained everything that happened to her and all she could do was give the queen emotional support as the situation was out of their hands. "I can't believe my hate for man's world could double after all these years."

"They did. I told them they were on an off world mission. They seemed more interested in the god of thunder than my daughters."

"That's because they didn't know that one of them had been kidnapped by an alien war lord and the other had gone to rescue her."

"They do not need to know. The princesses are on their way back." Hippolyta's gaze found hers, a smile gracing her features for the first time in so many hours.

"I know they are. I hope Diana taught that alien a lesson." Was it too much to hope she killed it.

"My only concern is for my daughters." Once Cate had returned to the island, she would make sure she never left, ever again.

"I know, my queen." Phillipus bowed and their gaze scanned over Themyscira. "This is all that child's doing."

"Yes, and that watch of his. It has some very peculiar aliens in it. That other one has completely revived Themyscira." Hippolyta was really impressed because they had already surpassed their annual target for harvesting. Everything was flourishing.

"Yes, it was impressive. Have you wondered about that form he arrived in?" Hippolyta turned to her.

"I mean, the one that somehow looked like Thor but wasn't Thor." Phillipus clarified.

"I have. According to what my daughter informed me about the watch, I believe he copied the god of thunder. That was how he was able to breach our magical defences."

"So he was a god too, meaning he did not break any rules of Themyscira." Phillipus reasoned, impressed by the watch's capabilities.

"I believe so. If it weren't for him we could not have survived that monstrosity." Hippolyta thought back to the miniature creature that dismantled the annihilator.

"Is that so?" A base voice spoke up from behind them making her to turn swiftly then fall to her knees in respect.

Zeus stood towering over her, his gaze scanning everything around him.

"Your highness." She whispered in a submissive tone. General Phillipus stood frozen in place beside her. In fact everyone and everything in the whole island was frozen, including the weather.

"It saddens me you appreciate what mortals do for you more than me, the father of your children." Zeus stepped up and stood in front her then motioned for her to get up.

"I'm sorry your highness..." she was about to start defending herself when Zeus put his hand up to silence her then scanned over Themyscira. He had seen what happened here when he was in his son's layer. Apart from the buildings, the vegetation and island looked exactly as it was the day he gifted it to the amazons. No doubt the work of that human with the watch.

"No need to explain yourself. I should have been here to protect you and them, but I wasn't." He had overheard her conversation and it was the first time he was hearing about someone kidnapping the princesses. Had they not been rescued, he would have taken matters into his own hands.

"It's not your fault. We should have trained harder to prepare for anything."

"Yes you should have." He agreed as that was the only reason the amazons existed. To be Olympus' elite warriors when called upon. "I sent word that you were supposed to gather some information for me."

Hippolyta gasped as she was just remembering what her goddess had ordered her to do. With everything that had happened, her mind had been a flood of emotions left right and centre. "You did, your highness."

Zeus looked at her, his massive well built form towering over her slender petite frame. "Tell me everything you know about earth and its new inhabitants."

Hippolyta explained to him everything that she knew concerning the avengers and Ben and how they were searching for a way back to their own universes.

"So the god of thunder and this Ben are the ones who stopped the annihilator?"

"Yes, your highness. Although it was Ben who did the most damage to it. Thor merely made sure it did not attack our mainland." She explained noting how Zeus had a name for that monstrosity which meant he knew of its origin. No matter how much she wanted to confront him about it, her lips remained shut.

"That omnitrix..." he confirmed if he was pronouncing it right. Hippolyta nodded. "That omnitrix copied Thor's DNA and now the human can turn into an Asgardian." It was more of a statement that needed clarity.

"Yes he can. His powers are different from those of Thor."

Zeus was now sure the unfamiliar godly presence that kept on disappearing and appearing was the human turning into Blaze. His son was right to be cautious about that device. If it could scan the asgardian then he was sure it could scan him as well so he needed to get to it first before any of his enemies got wind of it. Ares plan for it was common knowledge as he has been coveting his throne ever since he became of age to rule.

"What about the god of thunder? What do you think of him?"

"He is a god, albeit a young one but he is just as powerful as any other god. Especially when he possess Miljonir." She remembered how the annihilator tried picking it up but couldn't. "If it weren't for him, my home would have been no more."

Zeus' gaze turned cold and calculating when he sensed a hint of hope in her voice. "Are you implying that child is equal to ME?"

Hippolyta gasped at that, terrified of the consequences her unsolicited opinions would bring to her people. "I would never... You are much more powerful than him my King." She knelt down again her forehead touching his divine feet. "He is no match for your might. He can't fly without the use of Miljonir."

"From what I can tell, your subjects have already forgotten who blessed them with this land and who watches over them." He looked at the frozen general. "One assistance from Thor and they are ready to worship him and Asgard." He could tell what every amazon was thinking and feeling at the moment especially when they thought Thor was responsible for the bountiful harvest.

"They would do no such thing!" Hippolyta unknowingly stood up to defend her sisters. "They know who to worship and ask for guidance, your highness."

Zeus merely shrugged and looked at Themyscira deep in thought. "You will honour your senate's wish."

Hippolyta was taken a back at that statement. Just how much had he overheard.

"Your majesty?" she feigned not knowing what he was taking about. Zeus gave her a look.

"I will deliver the invite but coming back will be their choice."

"They will return. You will make sure of it." He ordered. He had to meet Thor and that mortal wielding the magical watch. If it was that powerful it should be under his control.

"I will my King." She bowed her head in acknowledgement. Then Zeus was gone.

"What are you doing there?" Phillipus asked walking to stand beside the Queen who had somehow moved some distance away in a matter of seconds. Queen Hippolyta's expression was enough for her to realize what just happened.

"What did our goddess say?"

"Nothing."

"What did she do? Did she ask about that monstrosity?"

"No. It wasn't the goddess who graced us with her presence. It was the almighty Zeus."

With that declaration general Phillipus remained silent because whatever was discussed had to be important because Zeus had never set foot on their island. He only used messengers such as his wife or children to deliver any news he had. Though she could guess what the conversation was about.

"We have to organise a celebration to thank Thor and Ben for their assistance concerning the annihilator." She instructed her.

"When will that be? The annihilator? Is that what it is called? Did he...?"

"Once my daughters return I will convey the date so that everything should be prepared. I have it in mind to invite superman too." She completely ignored her follow up questions and the general took note of that and let it go.

"Superman? Will the senate approve his presence?"

"They don't have to approve anything. I will invite him, to thank him for saving my daughter from the hands of that gladiatorial world." She had made up her mind about that. Plus it could be the only way to get her daughters home as fast as possible.

"As you wish, my Queen." The general bowed noticing her calculative gaze scan over Themyscira. She let that go too.

Unknown Location

I need to acquire his DNA. His clone would be just as equally powerful.

Amanda Waller was in her office going over the footage her satellites had recorded of the justice league miss-hap. She stared at the shapeshifter who had turned into a creature capable of neutralising that monstrous beam from the watchtower. She never thought the justice league would be capable of that feat. Building a weapon as advanced as theirs was beyond earth's technology, but that didn't matter to them seeing as they had aliens amidst their members plus a green lantern. She would have to develop one that counters theirs.

The president had been livid when he was forced to evacuate during his family dinner and be taken to a safe house outside the city. His first call was to her demanding immediate action against the justice league. Waller hesitated because she was aware they had been hacked according to the anonymous text she received. She led on the president till J'onn had personally gone to explain everything to him.

The media was another hurtle for them. Since neither organizations wanted to cause unrest among the public, Waller used every resource granted to her by the president to force every media station into silence. Those that thought they were above the law warranted a visit from her which led to them parting with a few billions as donations for making her waste her time with trivial matters. The donations received were in turn used to pay off the various bloggers who had not yet made a name for themselves and had nothing to lose if they went against the government. Everything worked out well. The justice league owed her and she was sure the dark Knight knew about it.

She switched to another live video feed showing Black mask being interrogated. So far he had revealed every business he had his hands on and every high ranking official on his payroll. This information proved crucial to her as she had made contact with all of them, declaring she was their new boss. Those that knew of her quickly accepted while others had to be gently persuaded. 

When she inquired about why and how he got access to the warehouse, he clamped his mouth shut. For some reason he was more afraid of whoever he was working for than Death stroke and her. Upon inquiry on why he met the Dark Knight, he refused to answer.

Waller concluded the Dark Knight was connected to whatever was going on and Black masks boss.

"Let him rest. You'll pick it up from there tomorrow." She spoke into her earpiece. On the screen Death stroke untied Black mask and led him to his cell. Waller gazed at his pathetic form and disconnected from the video feed. No one messed with her and got away with it. She didn't give a damn about who his boss could be.

She closed her tablet, opened her desk drawer, withdrew a bottle of scotch then poured it into her glass and sat back savouring the taste of it.

So many thoughts flooded her mind. Lex Luthor had made contact with her team requesting a meeting with her. She was still debating on whether to accept or deny it. He had crossed a line and for that he would pay, which he knew given he wanted to meet. Lex Luthor was also very cunning and smart unlike Black mask so dealing with him needed contingencies. His connections was also expanding inside the government thus he could do a lot of damage to her. She had ordered Yvonne to monitor all his dealings and movements and report back anything suspicious. She wanted to clean her house first before accepting any kind of meeting with him as she had not yet found the identity of the mole. This made her restrict access to many departments with only those personally vetted by her gaining access. One of the ways she came up with to corner the mole.

The latest reports concerning her main projects held positive results and this made her hopeful that her country will once again be top dog in terms of providing security, be it involving aliens or terrorists.

Watchtower

Everything had almost settled down. Hal had regained consciousness after J'onn had retrieved him when he passed out from the force of the beam shattering his construct. The rest of the leaguers had departed for earth while the founding members met inside their board room.

They couldn't get a hold of cyborg or trace his location, it's like he vanished off the face of the universe. The league had retaken control of everything and completely erased his coding. As for the government, J'onn had been tasked with explaining everything to them as Superman and Wonder woman were not present at that time.

Talking of Superman, he was currently sitting next to Wonder woman, Cate and Kara who had made a full recovery by the time they reached earth. He and Wonder woman were explaining what transpired during their rescue mission in war world to the rest of the team who were listening intently. The team present were Batman, Iron man, Thor, J'onn, Hawkeye, Hal and Ben (who had turned back to his original form).

No sooner had the watchtower returned to its usual state and position than its radar systems picked up on Kelex approaching at top speed. Kelex had informed superman of what was happening thus the man of steel was in a hurry to help out thinking Mongul had somehow triggered a failsafe plan to destroy earth. On arrival, Batman had explained everything to them and called for a meeting to discuss everything that had happened. Some founding members such as Aquaman, Captain America, Black widow, The Scarlet witch and Shazam called in to announce their absence. Kara and Cate insisted on attending claiming that they were fine despite Clark and Diana wanting then to be checked out by Dr. Midnight.

"What do you mean he's dead!?" Iron mans raised voice echoed throughout the board room. His faceplate had popped open the moment he heard the news. His facial features projecting disbelief and sadness. "The hulk can't die! It's impossible."

"Tony is right. You must be mistaken. The hulk is no mere mortal to fall so easily during battle!" Thor was serious. Banner was his friend. It couldn't be. He had seen the hulk bounce back from life threatening injuries so many times that he thought he was truly immortal.

Superman's voice was low and his mood sombre as he once again recounted the final parts of the mission, how he remembered it taking place. The hulks strength had taken him by surprise, and by the time he came to his senses, he was floating away from war world past the fleeing ships. He gathered himself and flew back at top speed only for war world to explode and the shockwave sent him back where he came from. He had been shocked and zoned out for close to ten minutes just looking at the debris and the ships caught in the explosion. His only thought had been Diana and the girls. The debris from the explosion was colliding with the space ships making some of them to explode into oblivion. He sped forward and began searching frantically every debris he could see and every ship that was still functional. He had searched for close to four hours before he picked up on Kara's heartbeat and followed it to find them trying to fix the ship which had lost power and was floating in space. They had been overjoyed to see him and that's when Cate mentioned the hulk making Superman to fly back to the debris and attempt searching for him. After a few more hours, he returned and they explained to him what happened since he did not wait for their explanation the first time. Coming to terms with the news, he helped them repair the ship and reboot Kelex who in turn showed him the footage it managed to capture of the last moments. He now understood why hulk had attacked him.

"The hulk saved us." Cate spoke up for the first time since the meeting started. "He did. Diana tried to get to him but he pushed us away and went after the canon."

Diana couldn't talk. She didn't know what to say because had it not been the hulk, none of them would have been sitting in that board room. The earth and watchtower would have been destroyed.

"She's right. That weapon would have destroyed everything, including earth." Superman supported her while looking at them.

"But the hulk cannot die. Are you sure you checked every debris before you came back!?" Banner couldn't be gone. Not when they were so far from home.

"Tony is right. He might have regenerated and you missed him." Hawkeye suggested, he could feel something heavy tugging at his heart.

Everyone looked at each other, different thoughts running through their minds.

"I searched everywhere. Kelex scanned the entire zone. He couldn't pick up his signature." It was all he could say to them. Then a thought came to mind. "Kelex has a distorted video feed..." he tapped his earpiece communicating to it.

A request to connect to their sever popped up in Batman's tablet which he accepted considering it was Kelex. The room's projector displayed the video. He watched what looked like a country size hole powering up then saw a distant faint figure, the hulk, approaching the ship before a powerful shockwave destroyed the camera and the feed stopped.

Everyone was looking on shocked. From what Superman explained, that beam would have destroyed every ship in orbit and be transported to earth which would have destroyed the entire planet. It was huge, the watchtowers canon was a toy compared to what they were watching on repeat.

"Is it me or is the hulk glowing?" Thor commented squinting his eyes.

"He was glowing bright green and emitting dangerous waves of gamma radiation." Had Superman been a normal human when he made contact with him, his health could have been in serious jeopardy. "He was strong too. Stronger than me." He revealed.

That statement further shocked them as they turned to stare at him, especially the justice league members. "Are you sure? You have been known to hold back a great deal." This time it was Hal who broke the silence.

"I stopped holding back long before he manhandled me."

Iron man couldn't believe his friend and fellow scientist was gone. Died a hero in a universe not their own. Banner had sometime back confided in him how he had tried taking his life multiple times but the hulk thwarted his plan every single time. It seems he finally got what he wanted and was a hero at the same time. His face plate repositioned itself just as a tear fell.

Thor was sad but was far from crying. His friend had died a warrior's death and would be welcomed in Valhalla just like all his fellow Asgardians who fell during the wars and managed to take down their enemies in the process. Banner and the hulk had an Asgardians fighting spirit, and that made him proud. Fighting till the end.

Hawkeye, though sad at the news, thought of Natasha and Steve. They had not been informed of the recent developments and in their group, they were closer to Banner than the rest of them. He still couldn't believe the hulk was gone. Looking at the video and then at Superman, he was amazed that his friend could be stronger than the demi god sitting opposite to him.

The other leaguers were still processing the fact that hulk had single handedly disabled war world's greatest weapon. Basically, he was the reason war world had exploded and not Superman as theorised by many intergalactic news channels.

"Every ones attention is on earth." Hal had to tell them. "We have become the topic of discussion among many civilizations. Some of them did not know a planet called earth existed."

"He is right." Ben spoke up for the first time. "Every news channel has his picture attached to earth and some version of the story to explain the whole ordeal." Trixx had tapped into most of the frequencies. No matter the narration involved, two things were constant in every article, superman's picture and that of earth. He projected the videos and the whole room could see them.

"Maybe this isn't as bad as we think." Hawkeye suggested because most of the stories portrayed Superman as a saviour. "Everyone knows we are the good guys."

"Maybe, but taking out Mongul and war world is a huge deal which has cemented us in the same ranks as Thanagarians and Tamarans." Hal was still having a hard time believing earth was responsible for war world's destruction.

"What about Mongul?" Everyone looked at the dark knight. "Did you find his body?"

"No...But no one could have survived that blast. Not even me." Superman thought to the explosion. The heat generated alone was almost equal to that generated by the sun. Most space ships did not make it and without the hulks help, Kelex would have been in the blast radius.

"Did you look for it?"

"He's told you he did not survive, what more do you want?" Kara defended her cousin, angry that everything took place when she was out cold. She could have helped.

Batman nodded. It was his nature to be thorough in everything he did and in this case, he wanted to confirm if Mongul would seek revenge given his planet was destroyed.

"We have to go back and check for the Hulk." Hawkeye suggested knowing there could be a slight chance the hulk was alive. "Can we borrow your space ship?" he looked at Superman.

"You don't have to go. There is a squad of green lanterns sorting out and helping the survivors. If the hulk is alive, they will find him and notify us." He promised them. "I will notify the guardians."

"That's good. They can confirm if Mongul survived or not." Batman still had doubts.

"What's with you and Mongul being alive. If the hulk couldn't survive that explosion you better believe Mongul didn't survive too." The hulk was the strongest one there is. "Especially considering the level of strength he achieved in the final moments according to him." He pointed to Superman.

"Batman is only looking out for everyone. If Mongul survived he will want revenge on us for destroying his home. That can't be a good thing." Wonder woman reasoned.

"Let him come!" Thor spoke up, anger evident in his voice. "I will gladly kill him and everyone aiding him. My friend's death will not be in vain!"

"I think we are getting ahead of ourselves now." J'onn stood up, he could feel all the emotions coming from everyone in the room and it was disconcerting. "First we need to make sure Kara and Cate are alright then Upgrade every aspect of our security since earth is now both famous and infamous. I know we are all hurting from the loss of our friend but let his death not be in vain. He sacrificed himself so that the earth could not be destroyed. Let us make it so."

Everyone in the room was nodding their head in agreement, watching the video projection in a loop.

"What about cyborg? That Darkseid guy now knows everything about us, them and him." Hal asked pointing to the avengers and Ben. They may have locked him out of their network but the damage had already been done.

Ben's focus was drawn back to the meeting at that statement. He had not considered that. Neither had everyone in the room from the grim expressions they had on their features.

"He will come for the omnitrix." Batman stated not at all startled by the revelation. "Sooner or later everyone was going to know about that watch the more you stayed in this universe. Cyborgs situation just accelerated the timeline for it."

"What are we going to do?" Wonder woman asked.

"Nothing." It was Ben who answered her and everyone's gaze found his. "We are going to do nothing about it."

"What do you mean? Do you even know who Darkseid is and what he is capable of?" Kara chastised his calm demeanour. The last time he invaded earth he almost won despite every hero working together and her cousin almost got brainwashed back in apokolips.

"I know who he is." Ben started. "I know what he is capable of, being a new god and all. I know everyone who learns of the omnitrix will want it for themselves for whatever selfish reasons they have. Let them come." 

"You are so sure of yourself." The dark knight observed. "I guess everyone in your universe did the same thing."

Ben nodded. "They always want it, and they always fail."

"Do you have new gods and old gods in your universe?" Hal challenged. "Leave alone the gods. Do you have aliens like the man of steel there? Because if you did, you wouldn't be scanning us left, right and centre. So we know what we are talking about." The omnitrix was powerful, he couldn't refute that, but the war Lords and evil beings in their universe were just equally as powerful.

"Hal is right. You should not underestimate the villains here. Remember when you mentioned that someone was powerful enough to escape when you turned into that ogre when rescuing the green arrows team. You did say that you suspect he was a cosmic being." Superman's eidetic memory brought up that particular conversation. He knew Ben was powerful but should not underestimate his opponents.

"I know what I said, and I told you that the omnitrix scanned him too. So even if he comes back for it, he will meet his match, literally."

Batman also thought back to it when Superman mentioned it. With everything that was going on he forgot all about Ben's encounter with that mysterious alien who they did not know was on earth. Since when had they been so out of touch that they couldn't figure out when an alien arrived on earth.

"This is the first time I am hearing about gods to be honest." He acknowledged Hals point. "Everything and everyone about your universe is new to me just like the aliens." He pointed at Clark. "I bet both of your universes are much more similar compared to mine since Thor is a god." Most of them simply nodded in acknowledgement.

"But my universe is also just as powerful as yours albeit completely different." His gaze travelled to everyone in the room. "None of your universes have the omnitrix which is more powerful than his ring." He pointed to Hal and held his hand up to emphasise his point. "The aliens in my universe are also different but just as powerful so no matter what they throw at me, I will never let anyone get their hands on my watch. Never!" he vowed. Darkseid may come but he will have to kill him to get to the omnitrix.

"Also true but don't underestimate them. Darkseid may decide to invade just because of that watch and I know this time he could use his whole armada." Hal reasoned. "Apokolips is in OA's black list for a reason."

"I know. And I am the greatest hero in my universe for a reason." Ben quipped back. "Don't be worried on my account. I can take care of myself. All we need to do is upgrade the watchtowers security systems and figure out a way for everyone to go back to their universe."

Batman's gesture indicated he agreed with him. "My guess is Cyborg is in Apokolips and Darkseid knows about all our security features and contingencies so I will have to come up with new ones."

"I am still wondering how he managed to activate the canon in such a short time." Superman voiced out bewildered. That protocol was the most fortified and guarded among every contingency they had.

"The mother box is powerful. Had we not detected Cyborgs disappearance when we did, the situation could have been a lot worse." Ben explained. Trixx had completely purged it out of the systems, disconnecting everyone who had access to their servers. "You need to personally select who has access now that it's only me and Kelex." He motioned to the video projection.

"Understood. I explained to the rest of the leaguers about cyborgs situation and told them to report in case he made contact." Batman looked at Superman, Wonder woman, Kara and Cate, his thoughts on how no one would believe they were from war world given no bruise was visible on their person. "What are you going to do?"

"I'll go to OA and follow up on Bruce Banners situation." Hal informed them thinking Bruce's question was directed to everyone.

The avengers who had been quiet, processing their friends death looked at him. They hoped he brought back good news even if his body was found, they would have something to burry.

"You should leave now." Iron man suggested to him. Hal's gaze found his, he nodded standing up and exiting the board room. Any of them would do the same thing if the situations were reversed.

"I will take Kara to the fortress and assess the damage done to it. Check on her to see if the Kryptonite had any permanent damage."

"I told you I am fine." Kara reiterated for the hundredth time since departing war world. "I don't need you to check anything."

"It won't hurt to be sure." Cate suggested. "You were really out of it. I was worried." Her friend's condition had taken her by surprise. From being one of the strongest people she ever knew to not having enough strength to hold her head up.

"That was the kryptonite. Now I am fine."

"You are also going back home." Diana addressed her sister.

"What!? Why?"

"Because you were kidnapped and mother insists on it." J'onn had informed her the moment they touched down in the watchtower and he confirmed they were all okay. Her mother had insisted borderline threatened him to deliver the news.

"I know I was kidnapped but that does not warrant me to go back home now. My two months are not over!" her voice was a little raised. Leave it to her mother and sister to make a big deal out of something so small.

J'onn decided to help out. "You can go so that the queen is assured you are well then you can come back. It won't take more than a day."

Cate scoffed at that. "Clearly you don't know my mother. If I set foot on that island I will not leave until I am older than Diana!!!"

"That's not true! She merely wishes to know that you are fine." Diana knew there were some truth to what she said but couldn't agree with her without angering her mother.

"1000 years isn't that much. You will be out in no time." Thor chipped in and everyone in the room apart from Diana and Cate gawked at the way he was so nonchalant about that. Asgards mythologies placed her age at approximately 1000 years old.

"If only she was 1000 years old!" Cate barked back. No way would she wait that long. Everyone's facial features froze, surprise still evident. Even the dark knight was surprised as he did not know the exact age of Diana much less Thor.

"What do you mean 1000 years isn't much!" Tony barked from beside him. "How old are you...wait...how old is she?" he looked from Thor to Diana to Kate.

Diana watched as everyone's attention landed on her. Even Clark and Batman seemed interested in the answer given how they were watching her. "That's not important!" she just realized how older than them she was. "You still need to talk to mother, otherwise she will be furious." The dark knight was smirking at her deflection.

"I forget how short lived earthlings are." Thor's comment drew attention back to him. "Your mother is very worried about you."

Cate looked annoyed at Thor who had brought back the conversation to Themyscira. "I know. I will talk to her."

"Yes. At home." Diana insisted.

"Not yet. I left some of my things at the fortress. I can't go without them"

"What could be more important than your own mother?" She could hear Clark chuckling beside her. "What!?"

"Nothing." He was quick to answer not intending to get in the middle of that. It was funny that it wasn't only him who experienced such behaviour from his cousin.

Since they weren't going to answer about their ages, Batman intervened. "Whatever you decide, do it quickly. Ben and I have things to do." He motioned for Ben to follow him as he strode out of the room.

"Count me in on that!" Iron man shouted, stood up to follow leaving the rest of the team in the board room. Diana still trying to persuade her sister. Thor and Hawkeye moved to go to the cafeteria. J'onn phased through the floor.

Apokolips

Steppenwolf sat in his room going over the various ideas he had on getting the kryptonian database from Superman. At the same time, the latest development was constantly popping up in his train of thoughts. War world was nothing more than rubble and debris thanks to the same person he wanted to steal from.

He wasn't afraid, no, he was surprised that Superman could kill Mongul.

Steppenwolf was a new god, making him immortal thus he was sure he couldn't be killed no matter how strong his opponent was and that was why he told Darkseid he could kill Mongul. The war lord was just as infamous and powerful as his nephew even though he was a mere mortal. His planet was also as feared as Apokolips seeing as how the green lanterns had no jurisdiction there. Mongul was also among the mortals to somehow gain his nephews respect. He theorised it was because war world was similarly run through fear just like apokolips.

This development made his mission harder because he was sure the justice league were on high alert given their cyborg fiasco. Had he known there was a mother box on earth, he could have had the earthling retrieve the database for him before announcing it to Darkseid. Desaad was walking around barking orders at anyone he could find just because he was the one to discover it and gain Darkseid's approval. Prick!!! He had seen how the torturer enjoyed their torment at the hands of their leader. He will pay for that. He thought.

His door swung open and Kalibak stormed into the room making him to drop his mother box thinking it was an emergency. "What is the meaning of this! This better be important..." he stood to meet him.

"Cool down you ingrate! I have come to discuss our plan to retrieve the kryptonians database." Kalibak shoved past him and flopped on his king-sized bed.

Steppenwolf debated on what to do, looking at the general who had not so long ago threatened him.

"I thought you did not need me in your endeavours?"

"I still don't. I am doing you a favour. I would hate to see a fury being promoted to your post when my father kills you for your constant failures." Kalibak smirked at him, his beta club resting on his chest.

Steppenwolf laughed at his antics. "You are here because you heard about war world."

"What about it?" he feigned ignorance. Steppenwolf looked down at him and crossed his arms on his chest.

"We don't have time for your games. Either you're here to join forces or you can be a one man army and form your own plan."

"Fine. I may have heard about it." He conceded then picked up his beta club. "I can't believe he killed Mongul and blew up war world."

"Yes he did."

"I thought he had a code and did not kill."

"He did." Steppenwolf had also wondered about that but got over it when he heard the reason. "Codes tend to be forgotten when dealing with family."

"The justice league?" Kalibak asked as he read that the war lord had kidnapped someone from earth.

"His cousin and the amazon's sister."

"That explains it." Kalibak looked deep in thought. "This complicates everything."

"I know."

"I mean, he killed Mongul and blew up his planet!"

"I know."

"I now understand why Lobo failed."

"Maybe. We will have to ask him that."

"Leave him be. I don't want anything to do with him till I get my revenge."

"You're still insisting on that?"

"No one makes a fool of apokolips general and walks away scot free."

"I would advice against that but do what you want."

"I will. Now how are we going to get that database without invading that pathetic planet." He asked. He had brainstormed for hours and couldn't get an idea that did not involve invasion or a fight with the justice league.

"I have a few ideas but how can I be certain you won't betray me?" Steppenwolf was wary. Apokolips consisted of everyone betraying one another to rise up the ranks.

"I do not intend to face him alone. Let alone the justice league that now has that old god...Thor, i believe that's his name."

His answer was enough to convince him because he too couldn't carry out this mission on his own.

"So, a truce till we deliver the database?"

"A truce." They shook on it.

"We are going to need Granny Goodness on this one." Steppenwolf informed him. "You have the best chance to convince her to help us."

"What makes you so sure she will listen to me?" the only one to ever truly boss her around was Darkseid, the rest of them didn't intimidate her.

"Because of what you keep on reminding me, YOU are the general of Apokolips and this mission will greatly aid Darkseid's forces."

"Yes I am." He smirked. "Yes it will." He thought about it.

"What do you have in mind?"

Watchtower

Batman, J'onn and Ben sat in front of the huge monitor in their control room watching all the programs Trixx was running on the screen. They were changing all the protocol details and brainstorming new ones that would be developed as soon as possible.

The dark knight was getting used to sitting back and dictating whatever came to his mind, then Trixx would make it a possibility. It was faster that way. Trixx was also adept at designing whatever they thought off, considering it usual took months to turn their ideas into designs capable of replicating in the real world. The idea for a canon built into the watchtower took them almost a year to design and longer to implement it.

"Are we going to rescue Cyborg?" J'onn brought it up. Most of the league members thought of that same question though no one had asked it yet, probably afraid of batman.

"I don't know." He answered sincerely. "What if there's not much of him left to rescue?"

"You rescue him anyway. He was your team mate." Ben replied. Kevin 11 had turned evil so many times and each time, they brought him back to the good side. They never lost hope on him no matter what he did during that evil phase.

"I know." Batman sighed. He had thought of it. "How would we rescue him?" Had they captured him before he boom tubed away would have been easier but now they were sure he was in Apokolips, probably brainwashed and under the guard of the furies themselves.

"That is a difficult question to answer." J'onn admitted. "The only way into Apokolips is using the mother boxes which I know are being monitored by that AI Ben mentioned."

"Why only the mother box?" Ben had read about it but thought it was the quickest and shortest way to reach the planet.

"Apokolips is in a realm of its own and not accessible by any other means." J'onn explained and Trixx added that bit of information into her reports.

"I didn't know that. So it is like Mount Olympus?" he asked because reports indicated it was in another realm.

"Yes. Where the old gods live." The dark knight supplied. "Darkseid is a new god."

"The most powerful new god in existence." J'onn added.

"Then that particular rescue mission would be difficult but not impossible." Ben told them and they glanced at him. "Everything is possible if you put your mind to it."

They both scoffed at that. "Maybe, but getting in and out of Apokolips undetected is impossible." The dark knight stated.

"I thought you infiltrated it when you saved Superman from Desaad?"

They both looked at him again. "Trixx." He mentioned and a report detailing that particular event popped up on the monitor and they could see she highlighted that particular detail.

"I did but that was under a different circumstance."

Ben waited for his explanation.

"Darkseid was focused on invading earth leaving Desaad alone to guard the tower of rage."

"Nothing is distracting the dark lord so we can't sneak into his planet." J'onn added. "That is suicide."

"I understand but what if you become intangible and invisible while in apokolips?" he suggested looking at J'onn.

Batman fully turned to look at him too. That strategy had never occurred to him.

"Or can he sense you?" Ben added.

"I have never thought of that." J'onn was considering it since it would be the easiest way to do it as he would also turn cyborg intangible and fly him out.

"We do not how his powers work. No one does. Not even the guardians." Batman chipped in. "Your plan may work or it may fail." He looked at Ben. "You have a peculiar way of thinking." He praised. That was a solid plan in case Darkseid could not detect intangible beings.

"I know." Ben smiled. Back in their universe Kevin would have turned down any suggestion he would have put forward which would start a debate between them.

"There is still the issue of the mother box." J'onn reminded them. It would alert the dark lord in case it was used to gain entry thus they would be on alert.

"That's easy, we hack it."

"Can she do it?" the dark knight asked.

"Yes she can." Trixx replied via the monitor's audio system startling them.

Batman still marvelled at how Trixx was so advanced that she could chime into any conversation.

"I believe you have your answer." Ben stated enjoying the envious look on Batman's face.

"Warning! Hyperspace gate detected." Trixx warned them and opened a video tab showing enormous space ships emerging out of nowhere. Everyone stood up and Batman pressed a button on his tablet to seal his bat cave and activate his protocols in case he didn't make it out alive.

"Apokolips!!! They have come for the watch!" Batman was already engaging the auto defence protocol for the watchtower and weapons emerged from various places and fired at the space ships. It was ineffective as they put up force fields and the shots merely got absorbed into them.

"I think I have seen those ships before." J'onn stated concentrating on the video feed showcasing them. Batman looked at him, halting his plan of heading out the door. By now alarms were going off inside the watchtower. "What?"

"He's right. Those are not Apokolips ships." Ben acknowledged.

"Both of your observations are correct. Those ships belong to Almerac." Trixx informed them and put up a picture she found in the guardians database of the same ships.

"Why would they want to invade us?" J'onn asked after recalling where he saw such a similar ship after Trixx's comment.

"Maxima is stubborn. She must have heard about War world and came to check on Clark." It was the only reason the dark knight could think of.

"Or maybe she came to help us when she heard about what happened with the watchtower." J'onn suggested. "Remember she pledged her support to Clark when the girls were abducted."

That could be another reason the dark knight thought noting how huge her space ships were.

"Somebody should probably go deal with this." Ben pointed to the monitor where Trixx had popped up a video feed showing some heroes going to the hangar intending to be the first line of defence.

Batman looked at J'onn who nodded and disappeared into the floor.

"The governments are not going to like this." Ben commented breaking their silence.

"I know." Batman's strategic mind forming an impromptu idea. "I need Trixx to hack every satellite in orbit to prevent them from detecting that." They could see Maxima took no chance with her security detail. The watchtower was already surrounded on all sides.

"Isn't that a violation of so many laws?"

"It is. Better that, than having to explain this to every government. Let alone all the conspiracy theories that would emanate from it. It would cause unnecessary unrest among the civilians."

"That makes sense. Trixx, do it."

"I will have to use brute force and some of them may detect the hack."

"Will they be able to trace it?"

 "No, they won't be able to trace it." Trixx reassured them.

"Do it now, before they detect her fleet." The dark knight gave her the green light.

They could no longer follow what she was doing on the monitor as she bypassed every organizations firewall to complete the task. All they could see were random lines of code and the occasional title of the satellites she was hacking.

"The Almerac fleet is attempting to make contact with the watchtower." She popped up a video call request originating from their main ship.

"Should I patch them through?"

"Yes."

The screen showed 'connecting...' then a figure appeared. It was of a male whom Ben had never seen before, not that he had seen many Almeraci apart from their queen.

"General MC. To what do we owe this imposing visit?" Batman addressed him. He recognised the general from their time at the fortress and since they did not fire back from when the watchtower attacked, he knew it wasn't an invasion.

Before the general could talk, he was shoved out of the field of view and queen Maxima's face replaced his. "I demand to speak to Superman immediately." She commanded adjusting her crown using her video feed as a mirror.

"May I ask why?"

"No you may not. I will only speak to the leader of the Justice League." She insisted before general MCs voice was heard in the background. "Prepare to welcome the Queen of Almerac, her majesty Queen Maxima aboard your watch tower."

Batman assumed his statement. "I am the leader of the Justice League. How may I help you?"

"You?  A mere mortal?" she asked bewildered. "I don't believe you." She recognised the human from their escapade in her future husband's home, that's how she knew he did not have any powers. Plus the reports she read indicated it.

"Your opinion does not matter here. If I cannot be of help then I hereby give you notice to vacate earth's space at once." The dark knight's voice left no room to bargain, full of authority. They already had enough problems to deal with.

"Watch how you address me, mortal! I demand to speak to Superman at once, or the Green Lantern." She insisted alternating looking between Ben and Batman. "I will not repeat myself, earthling!" Stupid weaklings have no respect for their elders!!!

General Mc pulled her aside and whispered something to her which made her smile broadly then step away from the field of view. "We need to acquire important information from you." He went straight to the point.

"What type of information?"

"I think it is best we discuss it in person, no?"

Batman's stance was unwavered. In no universe will he let that spoilt queen come to shake things up after everything they just went through.

General MC smiled. The human drove a hard bargain. "We are here to discuss the presence of an unregistered Almeraci residing in the watchtower."

Batman cursed under his breadth. Ben tensed at the mention of that. Both knew who he was talking about.

"We do not have an Almeraci as a member." Batman replied indifferent, his statement technically true.

"I beg to differ." The general then held up his tablet and they could see a video of Klaus talking to Hal and Thor in space.

"How do you know he is an Almeraci? That could be a human." Ben spoke up gaining his attention.

The general looked at the boy then at Batman, assuming whatever he just said, intending to insult his intelligence.

"He is an unregistered Almeraci and that is a crime in Almerac. We demand to speak to him."

"He is not here. We will pay you a courtesy visit to discuss it." Batman knew they knew he was an Almeraci and knowing Maxima, this situation would prove difficult.

"Batman. We come to your planet to pay you a courtesy call and did not fire back even though you shot at us first. We have shown you we come in peace. Do you not accept our gesture? Is this how you want to foster the relationship between our planets?"

The dark knight knew he was right. Any other person would have fired back and invaded them by now since they had a legitimate reason. He would need to navigate this issue carefully.

"Let us meet in the hanger." The dark knight informed him. General Mc nodded and the video feed was cut.

"This is a disaster waiting to happen." Ben lamented. They knew about his Almeraci form and by the looks of it, they would not depart until they talked to him. "What are we going to do?" he asked Batman who was heading for the door.

"We are going to meet them."

"I know that. I am talking about the watch. She will know about it."

"Not if you turn to Klaus and stay in that form till she leaves." Batman told him. "She wants to talk to Klaus, let's give her Klaus."

"What!? You heard what they said. I am unregistered. How am I going to explain that without mentioning the omnitrix?" 

"Who said anything about explaining?" the dark knight walked out the door and headed towards the hanger leaving a confused Ben behind. From what he knew about Maxima, looking for Klaus was the only way she knew she would be welcomed into the watchtower and in extension earth. Klaus was her scapegoat.

"What the fuck does that mean?" He scrolled through his omnitrix then pressed when he found what he was looking for. "I have a bad feeling about this."

Batman walked into the hanger to find J'onn standing and talking to Thor, Hawkeye, the flash and a bunch of leaguers who had earlier decided to sleep in the watchtower.

"I dismissed them but they insisted to stay in case we need their assistance." J'onn explained to him gesturing to the groups of heroes deep in discussion.

"Let them be. We have urgent matters to deal with."

"What could be more urgent than an invasion?" Hawkeye asked as he had never seen ships as huge as those surrounding the watchtower. The hell carrier was a speck of dust compared to them.

"This is not an invasion, Clint. It is queen Maxima coming to visit us." Thor corrected him. He remembered her. The beautiful queen in search of a mate. He always wondered how she had not found one yet with all her beauty.

"Yes, I heard." He rolled his eyes. "One would never suspect a visit if they saw all those ships out there."

"They want to question us about Klaus. They know he is here and is unregistered." Batman explained to J'onn.

"That gives her probable cause to come to earth as the leader of Almerac." No wander she was bold enough to come with all these ships. J'onn thought. The watchtower was surrounded on all sides by space ships larger than it.

They watched as a smaller ship, the same size as their invisible jet, landed in the hanger. Its design was more exotic than theirs. The ships hanger door opened, and a dozen well armed female soldiers matched out, all clad in military gear, observing everyone before taking positions around the jet. Almost everyone's jaw dropped.

"Do they even know how to fight?" Iron man asked landing next to Hawkeye after having cut short his bath time when Jarvis alerted him of the ongoing situation. The soldiers were gorgeous.

The warriors monitored every ones interaction, not bothered by their lingering gazes on their bodies. In the universe, Almerac was the only planet whose soldiers wore exotic combat gear meant to confuse their target while being attacked by them. It was a very effective strategy.

"Which one is Maxima?" Iron man whispered to Hawkeye. His faceplate had opened revealing his face.

"I don't know. Ask them." He pointed to the soldiers.

"Good for nothing." Iron man retorted back. Judging by how none of the founding members moved, he knew Maxima had not yet alighted. He watched the flash attempt to smile with one them.

General Mc alighted, followed by Queen Maxima. Gasps were heard throughout the hanger.

"That's who big blue keeps on turning down!!??" the flash exclaimed. "He must be crazy!!!" Batman's gaze fell on him, and he hid behind Hawkeye.

"That qualifies to be in the 'wife plus side chic material category'" Iron man remarked, watching the queens every move. The soldiers were completely forgotten. The rest of the leaguers could just watch from afar, too intimidated to move near the queen or soldiers.

Queen Maxima soaked in all the attention she garnered as she scanned everyone in the hanger, her eyes landing on Thor. She moved towards them, her General not far behind.

"Thor, Prince of Asgard." She acknowledged his presence by giving him a peck in each cheek, completely disregarding the others.

"Queen Maxima." He acknowledged back. "These are my friends." He motioned to Hawkeye, the flash and Iron man intending to introduce them but they were quickly dismissed.

"That is good. So, how have you been? I have missed you so much, my beloved." She pouted, freely touching his arms and chest, as Thor did nothing to stop her. The god of thunder was accustomed to such behaviour from his time conducting missions throughout the nine realms. Usually, every planet he rescued that had a princess led to them trying to seduce him as a thank you hoping to be bonded to Asgards finest warrior and prince. They started making small talk.

"I can't believe this!" the flash lamented. "They get everyone!!!"

"Tell me about it." Iron man seconded, envious as to how the queen solely focused on Thor. "You know what's worse?"

"What could be worse than being ignored by her?"

"Hal has fucked her."

The flash let out a groan then slapped his forehead. He forgot about that. "Now I understand why he thinks he can bed any lady he wishes." If flash had that chance, his ego would also be through the roof.

The General was talking to Batman asking about the Almeraci.

"We should move this conversation to somewhere more private." Batman suggested when they noticed the queen's behaviour spiralling out of control. It was normal to the Almeraci soldiers, Thor and to billionaires like Bruce and Tony but the rest of the leaguers did not have that kind of exposure.

"That would be wise. Lead the way."

Batman signalled for the founding members to follow. No sooner had he turned than Klaus walked into the hanger. 

The indifferent soldiers turned to look at him, clearly smitten by the way they were ogling him and fidgeting about before fully turning and looking at Klaus.

The general was frozen in place, too stunned to walk when he saw Klaus. It can't be. Impossible. He thought. In front of him stood the almeraci they identified, but he could only have been born from the royal bloodline, something showcased by his flawless genetics and potent aura. Constantly being around Maxima made him somehow immune to her aura but he could sense it, something he also sensed from Klaus.

As far as he knew, Maxima did not have a brother, which would be weird because they did not resemble one another in the slightest bit. In fact, he swore he had seen that face before. Glancing at their female soldiers, their reaction to Klaus made it more convincing he was not a common almeraci, the same reaction his queen garnered from their male soldiers. Queen Maxima's personal soldiers never got distracted from their duties unless the queen permitted it. Right now, one would think they were in high school the way they were smiling about and stealing glances at Klaus. Looking at the queen, she was still busy engaging Thor in conversation and did not see Klaus make an entrance. He watched Thor wave to Klaus in turn making the queen to turn in that direction.

Queen Maxima's sentence was cut short and stared at Klaus, her instincts going haywire and so was her senses.

Thor noticed her reaction and waved Klaus over to them. Klaus who noticed the sudden shift in everyone's demeanour when he entered the hanger, shook his head declining his request. He saw Maxima focus on him. His senses felt her eyes trained on him.

"Ben! Over here!" Thor shouted to him oblivious to the tension palpating in the hanger. Klaus shook his head again declining his invite and started walking towards Batman's group.

The general and the founding members focused on queen Maxima intending to see what her reaction would be to Klaus. The queen followed his every movement.

Faster than anyone excluding the flash and J'onn could follow, she sped in front of Klaus and blocked his path. Her eyes raking over his face then his body then back to his face then back to his body. Klaus was not startled at her sudden appearance indicating that he had enhanced perception and super speed. She was impressed.

"Who are you?" she asked, circling him still scanning his form. He was an almeraci, but was not like any almeraci she ever met. First of all, his figure towered over her, she had never seen a more impressive physique than his and his attire was designed to show off his magnificence. He was perfect. Too perfect to be an almeraci. She had never been attracted to anyone in almerac. This one in front of her was the exception. She wanted him.

Klaus on the other hand was fidgeting about his standing position. Anyone looking at him would say he was uncomfortable with what Maxima was doing but that was far from the truth. His natural attraction to her had just exploded the moment she stepped into his personal space.

When he had first met her in his asgardian form, he was mildly attracted to her beauty and could keep his thoughts in check. He had full control. This time it was different. He was fidgeting because he was so attracted to the queen that his carnal thoughts were augmented by her very sexy, very skimpy attire that left little to imagination. Fidgeting was all he could do to stop himself from moving forward to close the distance between them.

"Trixx, what is wrong with me?" he mentally shouted as his gaze couldn't stop scanning the queen. "What is happening?"

"My diagnostics indicates nothing is wrong with the omnitrix or your almeraci form." She reported. He could see the result of the scans in his HUD.

"Are you sure?"

"I know that as a fact. There is nothing to be sure about facts. They are either correct or wrong."

Klaus focused when he saw the queens mouth moving indicating she was speaking to him.

"I asked you a question." Maxima stood in front of him, her eyes focused on his beautiful ones. She noticed his had a distant look in them, like his attention was elsewhere.

"What?" Klaus didn't remember anything she said. His fidgeting slowed down.

Maxima's face flushed as his sultry voice made her glance at his lips which in turn awakened thoughts on what she would like them to do on her body. "Who are you?"

"Klaus." His signature smile and name made the queen blush then give his form a once over look again.

"What's happening?" the flash whispered to Iron man and Hawkeye who were also watching them.

"How should I know?" Hawkeye shushed him.

"What I know is I have to make myself that watch." Iron man pledged as he watched them.

"We need to go to the board room." Batman broke out of his stupor speaking loud enough for them to hear.

"Not yet." The general blocked his path and explained at the look Batman gave him. "It never ends well when you interfere with her process." He gestured to her obvious infatuation with Klaus. "Let it die out, or let him break it." He pointed to Klaus.

Considering the queen was almost as strong as Superman and her soldiers had a form of super strength and special abilities, the dark knight listened to him.

"I am the Queen of Almerac, Queen Maxima of the Imperial House of the Blood Royale." She introduced herself, extending her hand to him and watched as he accepted it and gently kissed it. Her mind was clouded with desire, which was strange because he was an almeraci, meaning he shouldn't have this kind of influence on her. She was his superior.

Klaus didn't know what he was doing or why. His current actions came natural to him and was shocked when he kissed her hand. He was so in trouble.

"Why haven't I seen you before yet you are an almeraci?"

"Because we haven't met before today." Klaus tried giving her nondescript answers.

"I know that." She smiled looking up at him, studying him, looking into his cerulean piercing green eyes. "Why do I want you so much?"

"You tell me." He replied their faces inching closer by the second.

"I am your Queen."

"I don't care." Their lips inching closer.

That was the moment Superman, Wonder woman, Kara and Cate flew into the hanger. "What's going on?" he flew to Batman's group while surveying everyone in the hanger. He saw Maxima talking to someone and upon closer inspection, he noticed the omnitrix on his hand. Ben! No doubt Maxima was disturbing him in whatever form he was in now. He flew to them.

Kelex had alerted them of Maxima's arrival when they were in his infirmary checking on the girl's conditions. Their first enquiry was whether it was an invasion because of the fleet of space ships she had travelled with. Getting his answer, he informed the others of his plans to check what the queen wanted and would be back in a while. The ladies did not accept that because they followed him to the watchtower since all of them could fly and survive in space. So much for not having a jet and the teleporter not working he had thought.

Klaus' sensitive ears picked up on superman's voice which brought him back to reality. He took one step back from the queen, clearing his mind of all the carnal thoughts that bombarded it. Maxima seemed disappointed at that and stepped forward not intending to let him go.

"Queen Maxima." She heard Superman call her and turned to face him becoming aware of the audience they had and Thor who was smirking and smiling away.

"Superman!" She flew up to meet him in a fierce hug. "You came." The man of steel dislodged from her embrace and hovered at arms length from her.

His strong sense of smell picked up on a particular scent that was rarely present on the queen. It was currently more potent than anytime he had ever smelled it on her.

She was aroused. So much so that he could see the obvious signs on her body thanks to the very skimpy attire she wore.

In fact different scents filled the air and he scanned the hanger one more time and sure enough most of the people in there were on different levels of arousal, the men looking at Maxima while the females looked at Ben. He didn't know Maxima could have that effect on so many people at once, though he suspected it was because they didn't have superior physiology like him.

"What are you doing here? What do you want?" he asked and Maxima took hold of his hand and dragged him down to Klaus.

"I came looking for him." She pointed to Klaus. "You are harbouring an unregistered almeraci in the watchtower."

Everything clicked in superman's mind. Ben turned into an almeraci. That would explain the queen's extreme reaction to him evidenced by their intimate position before he arrived. Focusing on Ben, he could see he was flustered and he had to hold his breadth because he could also smell his potent scent now that he knew. His acute senses noted how both of them emitted potent pheromones that was constantly being spread around the hanger, unbeknownst to the gathered heroes.

Diana, Kara and Cate landed next to Batman and J'onn who explained what was happening and the reason for the queen's visit.

"She is gorgeous!" Cate whispered looking at Maxima who was talking to Ben and Clark.

"No, she's not. She's crazy!" Diana grumbled. Who in their right minds travelled with that number of ships to conduct a courtesy call.

"Yep. She crazy." The flash agreed with her as he moved next to them. "Crazy hot!!!" he added subtly whistling. Alternating between watching the queen and her soldiers.

Diana smacked his head while they all looked at him before Kara scrunched her nose in disgust. "You stink! Get away from me."

"What!?" The flash was genuinely shocked and looked ready to chew her out.

"In fact this whole place stinks." Kara added looking around.

"What do you mean? I don't smell anything." Cate started sniffing around but did not smell anything strange. Same as Diana and the other heroes.

"That's because your sense of smell is not as powerful as hers." J'onn spoke up gaining their attention. The dark knight and the general also turned to him.

"What's wrong?" Diana asked concerned that the queen could be up to something.

"Nothing is wrong. Almost everyone is excited. That's all. That's what she is smelling." J'onn explained not wanting to go into details or being too crude about it. He could smell it too and sense whatever Ben and Maxima were emitting.

"What?" the flash asked confused.

"He means you are in heat, you idiot." The general couldn't believe the flash was a decorated hero. His queen was indeed powerful and could bend these earthlings' wills to do anything for her.

Flash moved away from the group and every hero around who heard the general's outburst stopped eavesdropping on their conversations. They couldn't deny the queen and her soldiers were the architect of most of their imaginations at that moment.

"Eeeeeww. Don't tell me that is what I have been smelling all this time." Kara made a gagging noise indicating her desire to puke.

"You could always hold your breadth like your cousin and me." He gestured to Clark and true enough she noticed he wasn't breathing in and out.

"I fail to understand. How can everyone be attracted to her?" Cate pointed to Maxima. She was beautiful but not 'her sister kind of beautiful.'

"It's not only her. Some are attracted to Klaus." He explained, Diana following their conversation while keeping an eye on Maxima. "Who is Klaus?" she asked.

He pointed to Ben.

"That's Ben!?" Cate exclaimed when she noticed the omnitrix on his hand. The others noticed too. "I never knew man's world had so many handsome men!"

"Excuse me!" Diana looked at her sister shocked at what she just said.

"What? It's the truth." She began mentally counting everyone she deemed attractive.

"It's not her fault she thinks of me that way." Iron man commented overhearing them.

Cate looked at him and his opened face plate. "Not you. Never you."

The flash and Hawkeye burst out laughing behind them much to his annoyance.

"Yeah...well...I doubt you two are on the list either." He shot back retreating from the group, embarrassed by her. Hawkeye will make sure I never live this down he lamented. His signature snarky remarks failed him.

"You don't have to be so blunt all the time." Kara held back a laugh watching Tony go to another group and reposition his faceplate. Diana had enough of their conversation and flew to where Superman and Ben were talking to Maxima.

"What? It's the truth." She defended herself. "Look at Ben and tell me you don't want that." She challenged.

"Shut up." Her senses made it possible for her to notice the almeraci soldier's reaction to Ben and she did not like it at all. Whatever he was doing was the same thing Maxima was doing to the men.

"See. Can't admit it but I know what you're thinking." Cate had a triumphant laugh. "I'm not the only one thinking he is hot." She gestured to the soldiers sneaking glances at him plus the queen constantly getting his attention more than Clarks now that Diana had joined them. She wasn't as affected as them but she couldn't deny his beauty.

They watched as an argument broke out between Maxima and Diana before Clark led them out of the hanger then followed by Klaus. Batman and his group followed them out as the rest of the heroes remained back, watching the soldiers.