Smoke curled from the cracked rooftop, still glowing faintly with residual energy from Elias's last Omega Pulse. Ash fell like snow. Below, police sirens screamed from distant blocks, but none dared get close now. The fight between a young unknown meta and two members of the Justice League had shaken the district to its core.
Above the shattered skyline, the Boom Tube yawned like a wound torn through the fabric of reality.
And from it, she stepped.
Tall. Pale. Towering with presence older than nations. Her eyes were sunken pools of malice, and her voice slithered through dimensions.
Granny Goodness.
Behind her, a quadrupedal beast with armor fused into its hide growled, dragging chains made of twisted metal and half-melted Parademon bone.
"You're just a boy," she said, stepping onto the roof. "A child with a spark. You are not the flame."
Elias stood his ground, shoulders heaving. Omega energy flickered across his chest, licking at the air.
"You don't belong here," he growled.
"Oh, I do," she said sweetly. "The System inside you—it was meant to be mine. My heirloom. My reward. And yet, the Mother Box gave it to you. A mortal. A worm. A mistake."
The air around her shimmered with heat, time, and death.
[System Warning: Power Class Detected – Level Unknown]
Recommendation: Evade or Seek Reinforcements
For the first time, Elias hesitated. The System didn't show fear—but it advised strategy. And even now, it flickered with instability. He hadn't fully adapted. His Omega Eyes had only activated once, and the glimpse nearly broke him.
Granny took another step.
"Come quietly, little monster," she cooed. "The Lord of Apokolips demands obedience."
"And if I say no?"
She smiled with the warmth of a falling guillotine. "Then I take what's left of you after your bones forget their shape."
The beast beside her snarled, preparing to lunge.
And then—
A crack of golden light.
The rooftop trembled again as someone landed beside Elias, boots first, sword drawn, her silhouette ablaze against the storming sky.
Wonder Woman.
"Back away," Diana said, her voice low and rich with command. "He's under our protection now."
Granny Goodness chuckled. "The Amazon Queen. Your kind always believed in free will. Look where it got your people."
"Try me," Diana said.
Without another word, the beast leapt.
Diana met it midair, blade flashing in an arc of silver and heat. It cried out as ichor splashed across the rooftop. They landed hard, steel ringing against bone.
Elias staggered back, watching in awe as Diana moved like poetry—like a storm with direction. But Granny didn't flinch. She raised her hand and unleashed a surge of psionic hate, a shrieking wave of corruption that shattered nearby windows and peeled tiles from buildings.
Elias raised his arm. The System reacted.
[Omega Barrier – Activated]
Duration: 6 seconds
Absorption Capacity: 71%
The hatewave struck him like a freight train made of screams—but the Omega Barrier held, cracking along the surface as the System pulsed to stabilize his body.
His vision blurred.
He dropped to a knee.
[Vital Integrity: 59%]
Stimulant Surge Injected
Through the haze, he saw Diana drive her blade into the beast's skull, vault over its collapsing body, and slam her bracer into Granny's psionic blast. A sound like thunder filled the city.
Granny snarled, recoiling.
"I see," she hissed. "You've claimed him already. He is your pawn now. Your… project."
Diana didn't respond. She stepped in front of Elias, shield raised.
"Tell Darkseid," she said, "if he wants this one—he must come himself."
Granny's eyes glowed like coals.
"Oh, he will. He always does."
And with that, she vanished in a coil of heat and ash, the Boom Tube snapping closed behind her.
Silence returned.
Diana turned, kneeling beside Elias. Her gaze was not unkind—but it was hard. War-hardened.
"Can you stand?" she asked.
Elias nodded slowly, breath ragged.
"Barely."
She helped him to his feet. He noticed she never fully lowered her guard—not even while offering help.
"You knew she'd come," he said.
"Not her specifically. But something. The Mother Boxes always attract what's worst. The League saw your energy signature spike."
"You came to kill me?"
She looked him in the eyes. "No. I came to see if you were worth saving."
Elias looked away.
"I didn't ask for this," he muttered.
"No one ever does. Not for power like this."
He met her eyes again. "What happens now?"
"You're coming with me. To the Watchtower."
"And if I say no?"
She paused, expression unreadable.
"Then we'll have a very short conversation that ends with you unconscious in a containment field."
He smiled weakly. "At least you're honest."
She offered him her hand.
"Elias Kade… do you want to understand what you've become?"
He didn't take her hand.
Not yet.
But he nodded.
The clouds overhead parted just enough to reveal a sliver of moonlight. The rain slowed.
Down below, Cyborg limped out of the alley. Barry Allen stood beside him, panting, his face pale. They both watched silently as Diana helped Elias step into the golden transport glyph etched into the rooftop by New Gods tech.
Inside Elias's chest, the Omega mark pulsed again—slower now. But deeper. As if sensing the game had begun.
[System Log Updated]
Alliance Tag: "Justice League – Provisional"
Status: Under Observation
System Path Split Imminent
Awaiting Directive: "Control or Transcend"
Elias stood silently in the golden beam of light as it carried him upward.
Toward answers.
Toward danger.
Toward a future not yet written.