I steadied my breath and composed myself. I knew I had to get this situation under control. Get Eve out of here and get the titans and League to a secluded location. That way no one gets hurt, when this get's ugly.
"Eve, go," I said, voice low but firm. "Head back to Titans Tower."
Eve stood in the shallow end of the pool, her costume shimmered to her skin in a instance, her expression tight with focus for the woman Infront of them. "I'm not leaving you alone with her."
Before I could argue, the air cracked like thunder without sound.
Anissa moved, no flash, sonic boom, or blur. Vanished from her spot in a instance of me blinking.
Reappearing an instant later on the patio deck, she had Eve in her grasp, one hand clamped around her neck, not squeezing, but firm enough that Eve couldn't move.
I hadn't seen her move. Hadn't even felt the shift in air.
Eve froze, her hands half-raised, her eyes wide with panic and confusion.
"Wait. What just happened?"
Anissa stood there like a monolith, calm, poised, her grip unshaking. "So fragile and yet so defiant, but with just a little pressure , all that disappears in a instance."
"Wait," I said quickly, rising into the air, fists clenched. "I'll talk. We'll talk. Just… not here."
Anissa's expression didn't change. " That is acceptable. I merely required your full attention. I meant this girl no harm."
She released Eve, who stumbled back, gasping and holding her neck.
I hovered above the pool, silently gesturing for Anissa to follow. She floated upward, posture perfect, boots leaving the stone deck without a sound.
We flew for miles, past cities, above forests, and finally over the open ocean. I picked a spot far enough from any islands or coastal cities. We just hovered high above the crashing waves.
I drew a deep breath and tapped the watch.
With a quiet hiss, the nanotech surged from my watch, across my body, black liquid armor knitting itself together until it formed a seamless, skin-tight suit. Dark red lining pulsed along the joints and chest. The hood hung behind my shoulders, the air around me humming with the soft vibration of the suit's systems.
"Sorry," I said. "Didn't want to have this conversation in swim trunks."
Anissa smirked faintly. "You are fine."
Then her expression shifted, tone turning clinical.
" I will first receive the mission report. Earth's status, and why communications cease. Now begin."
I nodded, pulling my thoughts together. So she want's to know why the planet still has heroes and were the older Viltrumites are no where to be found.
"Five years ago… My father, Johna Dan, went stop Nolan when he went to sabotage this worlds defenses. The battle caused massive collateral damage. In the end, both he and my mother were pulled into the Phantom Zone and the projector was destroyed. Nolan went MIA soon after. His son, Mark Grayson, is under Earth's protection's authorities, currently working with them from what I can tell. I am currently the only Viltrumite active, I guess."
Anissa was silent for a moment, her eyes scanning the horizon behind me as if reviewing data on an invisible screen.
Then she spoke.
"Cain. What side do you stand on?"
I blinked. "What do you mean?"
She floated closer, not aggressive, but deliberate.
"Do you stand with the Empire, with Earth, or with the Coalition of Worlds?"
I didn't hesitate. "Earth. This is my home. It's the only home I've known."
Anissa's eyes narrowed slightly. "And your father's mission? To bring this planet into compliance, into the Empire. Will you finish what he began?"
"No," I said with no hesitation or compromise.
Anissa studied me, eyes flicking over my armor, my posture, my heartbeat. I know she could see let alone hear my heart beating, and how on edge I am.
"You know what the Empire offers," she said calmly. "The strength to shape the galaxy. The resources to elevate Earth. Medicine, technology, power beyond your wildest imagination. We would tear down the broken bones of this world and rebuild it stronger. With you leading the charge. The people of Earth and the heroes will accept it, This will make thinks much easier"
"You mean after stripping the planet bare?" I replied. "After centuries of using Earth as a Viltrumite breeding pit, draining its resources, forcing its obedience, subservience?"
"That is a natural process," she said. "The weak fall. The strong endure and rise. We prune. Then we cultivate. "
She drifted a few feet to my right, watching the shifting tides of ocean.
"Earth's population has an extraordinary metagene awakening rate. The genetic diversity here is unprecedented. With proper Empire integration, this world could become a superpower. Stronger then the New Gods. The Green Lanterns. Stronger than Darkside . Even the Source Wall itself would tremble if Earth's full potential were guided properly with the help of the Viltrume Empire."
"Guided by Grand Regent Thragg?" I asked.
"By the Empire," she corrected. "You could be its ruler. A vassal-regent under the Empire Ruling Earth, Mars. Or this whole solar system. You can even be a general in the Empire in 200 to 300 years. A god among mortals. The people of species and planets will already worship you for being a Viltrumite. They will look to you to mate with their woman and lead their men to being great warriors. You could become more than even your father ever dreamed."
I stared at her. "You think that's what I want? To be worshipped? I didn't ask to be treated like some god. That's not a gift. That's a burden."
Anissa's tone turned distant. "I didn't ask for it either. The Tamaraneans worship Viltrumites. It's inbreeded their cultural DNA. I happened to be the first female Type-2 to be born there. That made me their goddess. Then my father made me a killer."
She looked down at her gloved hands.
"He forced me to fight and kill all my Type-1 and Type-3 siblings. Said only one could remain. I was thirteen. It took me 1 hours. When I was done the ground was filled with their blood and the sky was lit with my radiating flames. That day I became known as the Dawnfire."
"…I'm sorry," I said.
"Your pity is unnecessary," she replied flatly. "I survived. I grew stronger. And I learned one thing. I am my fathers daughter. A noble heir of the house of Zodd."
She floated back to face me again.
"But the time for nostalgia is over. You are one of us. You carry the blood whether you like it or not. That power is either a asset or a liability to the Empire. You must choose, Cain of Earth. Will you submit… and help Earth ascend into the Empire?"
She tilted her head.
"Or do I label you an enemy of Viltrum?"
Silence stretched between us.
The waves below crashed louder than before.
My fists clenched.
"I don't want to fight you," I said. "But if those are the only choices…"
I looked her in the eye.
"Then I guess I'm your enemy."
Anissa exhaled softly. "So be it. I did not want it to come to this."
She shot forward in an instant.
I raised my arms just in time, her fist cracked against my forearm with the force of a meteorite. The shockwave vaporized sea spray around us, sending tremors across the ocean's surface.
"You're durable," she said. "But how long will you last, until you are broken."
She spun, kicking me mid-air. I flew backwards, smashing through the tip of a rising ocean wave and skimming across the surface like a skipping stone.
I caught myself mid-flight, spinning upright, suit adapting.
"If you survive," she said, appearing before me again, "then you'll understand."
Her fists clenched, and her eyes glowed green.
" Consider this as your crash course of your Viltrumite Heritage."
Meanwhile – Global Defense Agency HQ
Cecil Stedman stared at the satellite feeds.
"Waller, you seeing this?"
Amanda Waller's voice crackled through the secure line.
"Of course I am, Stedman. Did you deploy Guardian?"
"Yeah. Just launched. ETA three minutes."
"And what about you?"
"We're activating Project Red Sun."
Waller's eyebrow twitched. "You're using her?"
"She's the only one we have who can match them."
"Is she field ready?"
"She's under my control," Waller said coldly. "And I hold the kill switch."
High in the stratosphere… Two figures cut through the sky with great speed.
Mark Grayson, in his new Global Defense Agency uniform, gray and green with an angular logo over his heart, soared forward with a indifferent stare.
Beside him, her blue eyes looked fierce. Galatea rocketed through the clouds. Her black bodysuit clung to her like armor, the yellow Superman crest blazed on her chest. Her short blonde hair flowed back in the wind, and her fists were already clenched.
"Targets locked," she said.
Mark's face tightened. "We will engaged shortly."
They flew straight toward Cain and Anissa, but whose side where they on.