"You should kill Darkseid. And you should pull out all the stops to do so."
Lucien blinks at the certainty in Blackfire's voice. He's used to his right hand woman having strong opinions obviously, especially when it's just the two of them. When they're in front of other people, she of course makes sure to present a united front, but when it's just them Lucien has always encouraged her to speak her mind.
And sure, he's still holding Grail aloft by the shoulder right now, but seeing as the alien woman is unconscious, there's no one else here to hear Blackfire's words except for Lucien himself.
"Look, I know you're no hero. We wouldn't have been compatible in the first place if you were. But Darkseid… Darkseid is a monster."
Blackfire bites her lower lip, looking off to the side as if remembering something awful. She shudders for a moment before looking back to him.
"No one who's been out there, no one who's even slightly traveled the galaxy, will tell you otherwise. You can't even go between two planets without tripping over the aftermath of his actions. His is the kind of madness that can't be reasoned with or negotiated down. And one day, I'm confident he'll come for Earth too. Maybe we could win then… we could prepare for him in your own unique way… or we could take care of him right now when he least expects it."
Right. Blackfire does know about what Lucien can do after all. He'd even given her memories back of a failed life once upon a time. She also has the most of his modifications out of anyone aside from himself. The Tamaranean Princess could go toe to toe with Superman at this point and expect to come out on top in a one-on-one.
Is she right though? This opportunity… he would be a fool to pass up on it wouldn't he? Darkseid wasn't the sort of thing that would never be a threat to him and those he loved. Darkseid was a looming danger, the sort of enemy that would eventually make himself a problem no matter what.
Lucien remembers the Justice League tangling with Darkseid a few times in his past life, but never a full blown invasion of Earth. However, his past life only went for another couple years… and in fact, Lucien didn't quite know what had caused his original death. An alien invasion of some kind to be sure… and it could have been Darkseid for all he knew.
Blackfire was right. If they could remove Darkseid from the board now, all the better.
"Let's say I agree. Let's say we plan to kill Darkseid. What exactly are you suggesting for said plan?"
Blackfire straightens up, her jaw clenching as she stays quiet for a moment. Its clear she's either struggling to come to terms with something or she's worried how he'll react. Possibly both given what she eventually blurts out.
"Pull out all the stops. Empower me to your level… but not just me. Tea, Claire, Kara. And even further than that. Bring your pet Queen and this one along too. Make them strong. Make them powerful enough to help us kill a tyrant."
… Ah. Lucien lets out an explosive breath at that. His eyes drift to Grail's unconscious form, still limp in his grasp.
"You think we can trust this one and Hippolyta with that kind of power?"
Blackfire scoffs.
"I think you can easily put a failsafe in both of them to make sure they can't betray you afterwards. Fuck, put it in all of us if you need to. But we can't rely on half-measures, Lucien. If we're going to go for someone like Darkseid… we cannot afford to miss our shot."
She was right about that. Lucien highly doubted whatever Grail was going to do to summon Darkseid to her would work twice, especially if it was against the Dark God's Will. He might be caught by surprise once, but the next time he'd have precautions in place.
This opportunity, to rip Darkseid out of his seat of power and pull him somewhere that he would be left entirely on his lonesome… it was once in a lifetime and if they fucked it up, then they only had themselves to blame.
… And ultimately, making Grail summon Darkseid without making sure she could survive her own father's wrath was a bit of a dick move probably. Even if it was entirely Grail's idea. Letting out a sigh, Lucien nods.
"Alright then. You're right. If we're doing this, we're doing it right."
Blackfire purses her lips and nods sharply… before tilting her head to the side questioningly.
"And? Are we doing this?"
Lucien takes one last look at Grail's sleeping face and then sighs and nods as well.
"Yeah. We are."
-x-X-x-
They reconvene in the living room the next day. Grail hadn't been particularly thrilled about being rendered unconscious like that, but after waking her up and telling her they were in, she was much happier. However, she was a little impatient. Waiting the rest of the night and part of the morning had been tough for her, but Lucien had convinced her to hold off… they weren't going to kill her father by rushing in half-cocked after all.
And so now here they all were. Lucien stands in the middle of the room with Blackfire at his back while everyone else is seated or standing, waiting for him to explain what was going on. Tea, Claire, and Kara look the most curious, while Hippolyta looks like she didn't sleep very well on her first night away from her home in thousands of years.
Staring at them all, Lucien lets out a sigh.
"I'm going to kill Darkseid… and I'm asking for your help."
His words land like a bomb in the middle of the room. Silence reigns for a moment but is almost immediately broken by everyone speaking at once. Loudest among the voices are Hippolyta's 'are you mad?!' and Kara's 'WHAT?!' but the others are all just as vocal aside from Blackfire. Even Grail gets in on the shouting, a wide impish grin on her face.
Until finally, Lucien brings his hands together hard enough to cause a small shockwave, the explosion of air brushing over their faces and silencing them all.
"Enough. It is happening. Grail here has a way to summon her father, something that will pull him through… alone. Without his armies, without his fleets, we will have a chance to end him once and for all that we might not have had otherwise."
Lucien lets his gaze sweep over them as they all exchange looks. Tea and Claire already look convinced, but that's not surprising. Kara and Hippolyta are… less confident in his words. With a sigh, Lucien points at Hippolyta.
"Hippolyta."
The former Amazon Queen stiffens in response. Perhaps she thinks he's going to just order her to fight this battle with him. But that's not Lucien's speed. After all, she was the one who'd shackled herself to him, not the other way around. Even still…
"You are weaker than me. Much weaker. Will your honor ever be satisfied if you cannot even hope to protect me from any of the things that could actually threaten me?"
Hippolyta stiffens, her jaw clenching.
"Will this life debt of yours go on for eternity with no end in sight?"
She opens her mouth to speak but Lucien cuts her off.
"Before you say it… no, I am not mortal. If you were hoping to be free of me because you thought I had a human lifespan, think again."
Her mouth clicks shut whether that was what she was going to say or not. Lucien smiles a grim smile.
"What would your honor say to being part of the fight that killed someone like Darkseid? If you joined such a battle and contributed in a meaningful way to MY victory… would you say your life debt might just be settled?"
The former Amazon Queen lets out a low breath as she thinks over her words. Finally, she grimaces.
"Perhaps… but how could I possibly contribute meaningfully in a battle between you and the Dark God? I'm not strong enough."
That is the kicker, isn't it? Lucien nods in agreement because as she is now, it's true. And frankly, for someone who has every reason to have developed quite the ego over the centuries, it's good that Hippolyta can admit as much. Still…
"I will make you strong enough. I will make all of you strong enough… as strong as me and Blackfire, in fact."
Grail had seemed to be under the impression that he had some sort of adaptability power last night. Lucien wasn't entirely sure if she actually believed that or was trying to make him think she believed that or what. But ultimately, that definitely wasn't his power. His power could mimic adaptability, but only on a conscious level.
If she's surprised by his offer now, Darkseid's Daughter doesn't show it. She looks pleased instead, and Tea and Claire both show interest as well. Hippolyta… she leans forward, resting her elbows on her knees.
"You would… empower us? You're incredibly strong, I'll give you that. I barely even blinked before you'd taken Grail from my palace and left the atmosphere. But do you think yourself strong enough to fight Darkseid? Do you think all of us together would be strong enough to fight Darkseid?"
Lucien has been considering that question all night and all morning long. He didn't actually sleep; he was considering it so strongly. Luckily, he didn't really need sleep anymore. Regardless, he nods now, having come to the same conclusion again that he'd already come to with Blackfire.
"Yes. The seven of us working together with the element of surprise… we could do it. I fully believe that."
Hippolyta hesitates for a moment more before letting out an explosive breath.
"Then I agree, Master."
Lucien groans and pinches the bridge of his nose for a moment in consternation.
"Please don't call me that."
When he looks up again though, it's to find Hippolyta smirking. Was she… teasing him? The gall!
Of course, he can't really focus on that when there's still the elephant in the room to address. Kara. The blonde looks between all of them with a worried expression on her face and her lower lip bitten between her teeth. When Lucien turns his full attention in her direction, Kara sighs.
"I just… I'm supposed to be representing the Justice League here. I'm supposed to be their eyes and ears while Grail is in your custody. I wouldn't mind fighting Darkseid or getting a power boost… but I feel like they're going to be mad if I don't tell them about this."
Lucien tilts his head to the side. He can appreciate the situation he's putting Kara in. She already had divided loyalties as is what with how tied up her civilian identity is with him at this point. Right now though she's not Kara Danvers, she's Kara Zor-El, aka Supergirl, aka a member of the Justice League.
Of course, not everyone is as understanding as Lucien. Galatea for instance…
"Oh, come off it. Are you really going to betray Lucien's trust to the Justice League?"
Kara's eyes widen and she immediately shakes her head.
"Wha- no! Obviously I don't want to-!"
"And are you really going to sit this fight out and not help?"
"Of course I want to help, but-!"
"Then fucking nut up and get with the program already."
"You… I… argh, you're the worst!"
Lucien's eyes dart between the two blondes as they talk, wondering if he needs to step in again and stop the flagrant bullying. But ultimately when Kara looks back to him… it's with a determined glint in her eye.
"Tea is right. And she doesn't even know how bad Darkseid really is. But I do… I've been out there among the stars, more even than my cousin. Fuck it… let's kill the bastard."
Well damn. Just like that, they're all in. Tea and Claire are foregone conclusions at this point and Grail and Blackfire were already onboard. This is really happening. All that's left to do is the empowerment… and choosing a remote location.
Which is exactly what Blackfire finally steps forward to clear her throat and ask.
"Where are we going to summon Darkseid for this then? Anywhere on Earth is obviously out of the question. Both the collateral damage and the possibility of Justice League interference make it an unacceptable location. By that same logic, the Moon is out too."
Lucien nods, frowning slightly as he tilts his head to the side.
"Could… probably whip up a pocket dimension with some LexCorp tech and do it there I suppose. Alternatively… there's always Pluto."
Blackfire smirks and raises a single brow.
"You want to risk Pluto?"
Lucien shrugs, smirking right back.
"It's a sacrifice I'm willing to make."
There's a pause as all seven of them consider the query. Where exactly DO you plan to fight a God when both his and your home turf are out of the question?