The world was paying attention now. Dominion fell, and the aftershocks? They ignored borders. Every power player in every corner started to sweat not over Dominion, not even the Justice League, but Rex. Because a devil on the loose? That's scarier than one locked up.
Deep under Geneva, in a bunker so secure it felt like a Bond villain's lair, a dozens of heavy hitters sat around in a shiny table that could blind you. Politicians, generals, CEOs and the usual puppet masters. No name tags, no medals. Their power walked in with them, no introductions needed.
They called themselves The Covenant. Pretentious? Certainly. But nobody laughed.
Only one topic on the agenda: Rex.
"He's disrupting the global order," snapped a woman in a storm grey suit, her voice sharp. "Dominion was ugly, but it kept the peace. Now Gotham's just a smoking hole."
"Peace?" a man snorted. "Dominion was a choke chain, not a solution. The devil broke free, that's all."
"What now?" growled a general, fist clenched. "Let him set the rules? He's a symbol, and every wannabe rebel is chanting his name."
"We don't control him," the woman said, drumming her nails. "So either we take him out, or we bring him in."
The word "co-opt" hung in the air, toxic.
Nobody disagreed. Time to make contact.
Meanwhile, Gotham didn't care about their secretive drama. Rex had bigger concerns, like drinking the mud Evelyn called coffee. She sat down across from him at the battered safehouse table, legs crossed, eyes sharp.
"This truce with the League? It's temporary. You know that, right?" she said.
"Nothing lasts forever, doc."
"I'm serious. With Dominion gone, there's a power vacuum. Someone's going to try to fill it."
"Let them try."
"You need to think bigger, Rex."
He tilted his head and grinned slightly. "Bigger than tearing down chains?"
"Bigger than just surviving."
Before he could respond, [V.E.R.G.I.L.] chimed in.
[INCOMING COMMUNICATION REQUEST — ENCRYPTED SOURCE.]
He groaned. "Persistent little—"
A finger tap and a hologram popped up. The woman in gray, with a corporate haircut, sat in a room so dull it could make you sleepy.
"Rex," she began, all business, all rehearsed lines. "I represent The Covenant."
He smirked. "Sounds like a cult."
"We're a coalition of governments, corporations, global interests maintaining balance."
"A bit late, aren't you?"
"You're a variable, Rex. A wild card."
He shrugged. "I've been called worse."
"We want to make you an offer."
He rolled his eyes. "What is it, a leash with flowers?"
"No. A seat at the table."
That caught his attention.
"You think I want to sit around and playing politics?"
"We believe you don't want to fight forever."
He scoffed. "Try again."
The woman didn't blink. "Rebellion without direction fizzled out. Guided, it changed everything."
Evelyn whispered, "Here we go…"
Rex leaned in, eyes narrowed. "Let me spell it out: I don't do leashes. I don't sit at tables made for chains. You're not offering me power. You're offering me a muzzle with a nicer label."
"You misunderstand," she said, smile fixed. "We're not asking you to follow. We want you to lead."
Evelyn raised her eyebrows.
Oh, they weren't trying to chain him. They wanted to use his image for their propaganda.
"Why now?" Rex asked, voice flat.
"Because you've shown you can't be controlled. We'd rather support your defiance but just… under our rules."
Classic. Not a leash, just a bigger cage with the door propped open.
Evelyn waved off the call. Transmission ended.
"That's a hard no, I guess," she said.
"Big, ugly no," Rex grunted.
"They're not going to take that well."
"Never do."
Fast forward to midnight. Rex stood on a Gotham broadcast tower, city lights blazing beneath him. Evelyn was beside him, arms crossed, both soaking in the chaos.
"They'll spin it," she said. "Make you out to be a threat to the whole world."
"Not wrong," he shrugged.
"They'll send hunters."
"I'll sharpen my knives."
"They'll come after me, too."
He glanced over, grin gone. "If they touch you, they die slow."
D.A.N.T.E. hummed under his skin. Not scared but just getting ready. The Covenant could play their games with seats and titles. Rex? He was all about one thing: refusing to kneel.
Elsewhere, back at The Covenant HQ, the woman in grey watched Rex's latest rampage on repeat.
"He's not a threat," she said, voice as cool as ice.
Her partner looked at her as if she'd grown a second head. "He took down Dominion."
"He's a symbol. And symbols? Those are opportunities."
Her fingers tapped the console.
"Prep Project Ordinance."
Her partner paled. "That's not approved."
"It will be. When Rex learns what defiance really costs."
Evelyn's voice pulled Rex out of his thoughts right there in the safehouse.
"So, Devil Boy now what's the plan?"
He grinned, sharp.
"Simple. Nobody's going to tell my story but me."
She snorted. "Please, you couldn't write a grocery list with that."
"Yeah, lucky for me, I do my best work with my fists."
She rolled her eyes, not that she disagreed.
Everything outside was shifting, getting strange.
But Rex? No way he was going to wait around for someone to slap on the cuffs. This time, he'd break the damn chains before anyone even pulled them out.
The Covenant already showed their hand.
Now it was his game.