Bruce's eyes glowed with Solomon's ancient wisdom as his enhanced mind processed thousands of variables.
Military positioning. Media timing. Technology theft.
The patterns clicked into place like puzzle pieces.
"It's Lex Luthor," he said with absolute certainty. "He took our families."
Clark turned sharply. "How can you be sure?"
"The timing. The edited footage. The missing data from our systems."
Bruce's voice carried the weight of divine knowledge. "He planned this entire scenario."
Diana gripped her sword tighter. "Then we go get them."
"It's not that simple," Bruce continued. "He'll have them hidden. Heavily guarded."
"Probably in a location we can't reach by conventional means."
All eyes turned to Victor.
His cybernetic body was still sparking from battle damage, but his systems were operational.
"Cyborg," Ojaga said urgently. "Can you teleport us to wherever they are?"
Victor's eye glowed as he interfaced with the mansion's systems.
"First, I need to clean house."
His consciousness spread through every circuit in Wayne Manor.
"Luthor planted surveillance bugs throughout the entire system."
Sparks flew from hidden devices as Victor systematically destroyed them.
"Microscopic transmitters. Audio pickups. Even data miners in Jarvis's core programming."
"Jarvis reboot sequence initiated," Victor announced.
The AI's voice returned, clearer than before. "Systems restored, sir. Enhanced protocols active."
"Victor upgraded me," Jarvis explained. "I now have access to advanced Saiyan technology databases."
"Scanning for life signatures of kidnapped individuals."
Golden energy patterns flowed across the mansion's screens.
Minutes passed as the enhanced AI searched.
"I cannot locate them," Jarvis reported. "Their life signs are not registering on any sensor network."
Victor's frustration showed in his cybernetic expressions. "I can't seem to find it!"
Diana stepped forward. "Then we make Luthor tell us."
Bruce nodded. "He'll be somewhere public. Making speeches. Playing the hero."
Victor raised the Mother Box, its alien energy pulsing.
"I can teleport us directly to him."
"But once we appear, there's no going back. The whole world will see us as the aggressors."
Ojaga's ki blazed golden around his fists. "I don't care anymore."
"My family is missing. That makes Luthor my enemy."
"Boom tube opening," Victor announced.
A swirling portal of energy tore through the mansion's main hall.
"Lex Luthor's location confirmed. Underground facility beneath LexCorp Tower."
The heroes stepped through one by one.
Clark, despite his reduced power, moved with grim determination.
Diana's Amazon training made her ready for anything.
Barry gripped his swords, speed-enhanced reflexes on high alert.
J'onn prepared his shape-shifting abilities.
Bruce's divine lightning crackled with Solomon's righteous anger.
Ojaga entered last, his Saiyan power building with each step.
LexCorp Underground Facility
They materialized in a vast underground complex.
The scale was staggering—dozens of levels, hundreds of chambers.
But what made their blood freeze were the cells.
Thousands of them.
Each containing a different being.
"My God," Clark whispered.
Aliens with green skin sat in containment fields.
Metahumans with various powers were held in specialized restraints.
Some were barely conscious. Others were clearly experimented on.
"He's been collecting us," Diana said with horror. "Like specimens."
Victor's systems interfaced with the facility's controls.
"Releasing all containment protocols."
Cell doors began opening throughout the complex.
Confused beings stumbled out—some human, some clearly from other worlds.
"Go," Victor told them. "Find exits. Get to safety."
Many fled immediately. Others looked around with gratitude before disappearing.
"Cyborg," Ojaga said, his voice tight with barely controlled rage. "Take me to Lex Luthor. Where is he?"
Victor's scans located the facility's main conference room.
"Upper level. He's... giving a press conference."
Through the facility's internal monitors, they could see Lex addressing a room full of reporters.
"Today marks humanity's greatest victory," Lex was saying. "We have proven that Earth can defend itself."
The Conference Room
The elevator doors exploded outward.
Ojaga walked through the debris like it was paper.
His golden ki aura blazed, making the air itself shimmer with heat.
Behind him, the other heroes followed in formation.
The press conference erupted in chaos.
Reporters screamed and ran for exits.
Security guards raised weapons, but Diana's shield blocked their shots.
Barry moved in a blur, disarming them without killing.
Clark's heat vision melted their gun barrels.
Lex Luthor stood behind his podium, still trying to maintain control.
"Ladies and gentlemen, as you can see, the alien threat is very real—"
Ojaga appeared in front of him instantly.
His hand closed around Lex's throat, lifting him off the ground.
"Where are my parents?"
"I don't know what you're—"
Ojaga's other hand grabbed Lex's leg.
With surgical precision, he twisted.
The crack of breaking bone echoed through the room.
Lex screamed as his leg bent at an impossible angle.
"QUICKLY TELL ME WHERE ARE MY PARENTS!"
News cameras continued rolling.
Every major network was broadcasting live.
The world watched as the "alien threat" tortured their "savior."
But Ojaga didn't care about public opinion anymore.
"Talk," he growled. "Or I start breaking more bones."
Lex's face was pale with pain, but his eyes remained calculating.
"You're... proving my point," he gasped. "The world can see... what you really are."
Ojaga's grip tightened. "The world can see what happens when you threaten my family."
He looked directly into the nearest camera.
"I am telling you all," Ojaga said, his voice carrying across every broadcast network.
"If my parents... if something happened to them..."
His power flared, golden energy making the cameras flicker.
"This world will not be left alive."
"I am warning you all—government, military, anyone listening."
"Your tricks and weapons can try to stop me."
"But if my family dies, everyone dies."
The threat was broadcast to every corner of Earth.
In government bunkers, world leaders watched in horror.
In military command centers, generals realized their weapons might not be enough.
In homes across the globe, people saw a hero transformed into something terrifying.
J'onn J'onzz approached Lex from behind.
"Let me read his memories," he said to Ojaga.
His Martian telepathy reached into Lex's mind, searching for the truth.
Images flashed—hidden facilities, pocket dimensions, advanced containment technology.
"There," J'onn said. "I found them."
"They're not in this dimension," J'onn reported. "He's created a pocket universe."
"Accessible only through his personal teleportation device."
Lex's eyes widened as his secret was revealed.
"The device is implanted in his spine," J'onn continued. "Keyed to his DNA."
Ojaga's expression went cold.
"So I need him alive to get there."
"Actually," J'onn said quietly, "I can extract the location coordinates from his memories."
"We don't need him alive."
Lex's face went white. "Wait. I can negotiate. I can—"
"You kidnapped my family," Ojaga said simply.
"You turned the world against us."
"You experimented on innocent beings."
His ki began to build. "There's nothing to negotiate."
The news cameras captured everything.
Lex Luthor, the man the world believed had saved them, begging for his life.
Ojaga, the "alien threat," standing in judgment.
"Please," Lex whispered. "I was protecting humanity. You have to understand—"
"I understand perfectly," Ojaga replied.
His hand moved faster than human eyes could track.
A precise ki blast, focused to a single point.
Through Lex's heart.
The "savior of humanity" fell backward, eyes wide with shock.
Dead before he hit the ground.
The conference room fell silent except for the hum of cameras.
J'onn nodded. "I have the coordinates. The pocket dimension location is locked in my memory."
Victor stepped forward. "I can open a boom tube there."
Diana looked at the cameras, then at Ojaga. "The world just watched you kill their hero."
Ojaga looked directly into the lenses.
"He wasn't a hero. He was a predator who used fear to gain power."
"And now you know what happens to anyone who threatens my family."
Bruce placed a hand on Ojaga's shoulder. "We need to go. Before they bring more forces."
Victor opened another boom tube.
"Pocket dimension portal ready."
The heroes stepped toward it, leaving Lex's body behind.
But the message was clear to anyone watching.
Earth's protectors had become something else.
Something dangerous.
Something that wouldn't hesitate to kill to protect what they loved.
As they disappeared through the portal, news anchors around the world struggled to process what they'd witnessed.
The alien who had saved Earth from Darkseid.
The man who had just murdered the person they thought was their savior.
The promise of global destruction if his family was harmed.
In military bunkers, emergency meetings began.
In government offices, evacuation plans were drafted.
In homes across the world, people wondered if they had been cheering for the wrong side all along.