Green Lantern staggered to his feet, dazed. With a roar, he unleashed a torrent of emerald energy from his ring.
The blast drove Grail to her knees. For the first time, Kori saw the gray-skinned warrior falter.
The others pressed the attack—Kori, Moonrider, and Sphere unleashing energy projectiles while Vykin manipulated the ground, trapping Grail's legs in the earth to pin her down.
From the shattered wall where Serifan had been thrown, a volley of glowing bolts erupted. Serifan limped into view, his left arm clearly broken.
"Dreamer, any luck?" Vykin called.
"No," Dreamer replied through gritted teeth. "My illusions and telepathy won't touch her. And my Motherbox—boom tubes are jammed."
Grail snarled, enduring the storm of energy. Her cloak disintegrated, her teeth bared in fury. Then she spoke, her voice low and dangerous.
"Your power comes from will. Free will. I can take that…" She raised her right arm. "…and break it."
Dark green lightning-like veins crackled outward from her hand, racing toward Green Lantern.
"System failurrrrre," his ring announced flatly.
Green Lantern collapsed, unconscious.
The others froze, stunned—hopelessness creeping in. Their combined assault had done little more than burn her cloak and scuff her armor.
Grail ripped herself free from the earthen bonds with ease. "As for the rest of you—"
Her words cut off in an explosion. The ceiling burst inward as Bear came crashing down, slamming into her with the force of a meteor.
The entire building shook. The weakened structure gave way, collapsing into the cavern below that was as wide as a football stadium.
The rest of the team dove after them, landing in a vast subterranean chamber littered with New Genesian tech and Apokoliptan weaponry. The only light came from the hole above, illuminating the chaos below.
Bear, the strongest of the Forever People, was being manhandled. Grail caught his punches effortlessly and hurled him aside.
Kori flew in and caught him before he hit the ground.
"She's too strong," Bear gasped. "We'll need to merge—become Infinity Man."
"Starfire, Sphere—cover us while we transform," Vykin ordered.
Kori nodded, snatching up one of the Apokoliptan staffs scattered on the floor as she charged forward. Sphere peppered Grail with laser fire—not enough to harm her, but enough to distract. Kori closed the distance, striking with all her strength.
But Grail was faster. Sharper. Stronger. The scythe-axe in her hands cleaved through Kori's defenses with surgical precision.
"I've studied you—all of you," Grail said between strikes. "Starfire, the ward of my dear sister."
"What—?" Kori barely got the word out before her staff was cleaved in half. Then a brutal punch to the stomach sent her flying into a New Genesian Rescue Drill.
Sphere caught her midair in her Super-Cycle form to cushion the blow. Pain burned through Kori's ribs—several were broken—but she forced herself upright. The others needed time.
"It's time," Vykin said.
The Forever People formed a circle, raising their arms. Golden light burst from their hands, converging into a beam of pure energy.
"Tarru!" they shouted.
Then, they vanished—replaced by a towering figure of light.
Kori watched in awe as Infinity Man took form, his body plated in gold and blue armor, a godlike presence filling the cavern.
But Grail only smirked.
Something wasn't right.
From the shadows, a figure in a purple hood emerged, hurling a small cube toward the merging entity. Kori recognized it instantly—it resembled a Motherbox, but darker. A Fatherbox.
Her instincts screamed. She fired a Starbolt—but it was too late. The cube fused into Infinity Man's chest.
The giant's glow shifted from golden-yellow to blood red and black.
Kori's heart sank. The odds had gone from nine versus one to two versus three—and she was injured.
"Sphere, get out of here! Go!" she ordered.
Kori and Sphere shot upward toward the exit—
"Infinity-Man, shoot them down," Desaad said gleefully.
Twin beams of red light burst from Infinity Man's eyes.
Sphere moved in front of Kori, trying to shield her, but the beams pierced through the Super-Cycle, almost splitting her in two before striking Kori as well.
Agony enveloped her mind as she was driven into the ground alongside Sphere. Then, everything went black.
Grail turned to her accomplice.
"Our plan is complete, Desaad," she said coolly. "Now properly dispose of them."
Desaad stepped forward into the light—a gaunt, pale man with sunken red eyes and warped flesh along one side of his face.
"Infinity Man, kill them all. Starting with Starfire."
But then a shadow fell over him.
**
//Initiating awakening.//
Joseph heard Nova's voice echo in his mind as he stirred.
//The entropic energy from the beams caused atomic dissociation in your molecules, superheating your body and shorting the nanites. Eighty percent of processors are damaged. Initiating repairs using Fatherbox integration. Estimated full recovery time with Speed Force: 14 minutes. Pain receptors dulled to preserve consciousness.//
Nova said "dulled"—but Joseph still felt agony beyond anything he'd known. That attack could have killed even the Justice League's powerhouses.
Then memory surged back. The fight. Kori.
He bolted upright, surveying the wreckage. The auditorium had collapsed into a vast chasm, revealing three adjacent ruined theater rooms. Hal Jordan lay unconscious in a seat nearby. No sign of the Forever People, Sphere, or Kori.
'How long have I been out?'
//Four minutes,// Nova replied.
Joseph ignored the pain as much as possible and slipped into the Speed Force. The world froze around him. He expanded his Nova Sense—life signatures below.
He shot downward into the cavern and froze when at what he saw as he heard a man's voice.
"...kill them all. Starting with Starfire."
He looked down to find the source.
Below stood a gray-skinned woman and Desaad, whom Joseph recognized from Ugly Mannheim's memories. Sphere lay in two halves, her systems flickering weakly. Kori was beside her, steam rising from her skin, her face twisted in pain. The Forever People were gone.
Joseph felt a strange calmness settle over him.
Using the Speed Force, he descended to Kori's side. She was bleeding internally, several bones broken. It was a mercy she hadn't taken a hit from the beams that hit him.
This was unacceptable. He had brought her into this. He'd even crafted a gift for her—a device that could have protected her.
An improved Nanode, originally taken from Silencer during his dismantling of Leviathan. Initially, the device was capable of reweaving nanomolecular fibers into specialized combat fatigues that served to protect the user, all controlled via the subject's motion.
At Joseph's request, Nova improved the device, shrinking it from a white object the size of a book to a small green gem, adding Nth metal for extra durability. The A.I. also applied Cadmus technology for solar suits after he'd hacked into their database.
He further designed the device so it could catalogue stored conversion templates on its hardware, allowing her to switch from her civilian clothes to her suit at a moment's notice. The nanode would also double as a comm, that could be interfaced with through a projected hologram.
He'd wanted to surprise her with it later—to see her smile.
Now, that moment was ruined.
'Nova. Heal her.'
//On it, sir.//
Golden light spread from his arms, enveloping Kori. Her wounds knit rapidly as his Nova Force drained. Healing demanded immense energy, but with his link to the Source, he would never run dry. Accelerated by the Speed Force, her recovery would appear instantaneous in real time.
But even moving so fast with the Speed Force, the woman's eyes had managed to track him. His reaction time was near seventy nanoseconds—yet she followed his every movement effortlessly. She didn't attack, only watched with what seemed like curiosity.
When Kori stabilized, Joseph turned to Sphere, whose damaged halves barely held together, inner circuitry exposed and sparking. By the time he was done, Sphere still looked like a banged up bike but at least she wasn't hanging on by a thread.
Once finished, he slowed time back to normal.
"Why didn't you have Infinity Man kill them instantly when you told him to shoot them down?" the gray-skinned woman asked, annoyance lacing her tone.
Desaad chuckled. "My apologies Grail. I must admit, I enjoy slow deaths. My Fatherbox must have… inherited my tastes."
Joseph's calm vanished, replaced by searing rage.