The feed cut in from black.

Vicki Vale stepped aside, turning slightly as another figure entered the frame.

“We now go live to the Hall of Justice for more on the League’s response,” Vicki said. “For that, we turn to Lois Lane, who is on the ground.”

The camera shifted.

Lois Lane stood before the towering steps of the Hall of Justice, the iconic structure looming behind her under the evening sky.

“Thank you, Vicki,” Lois said. “I’m standing outside the Hall of Justice, where Superman is expected to address the country directly regarding today’s tragedy.”

She turned slightly, glancing back over her shoulder.

“Only three members of the Justice League are present here tonight—Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. The rest remain deployed in Jump City and its surrounding regions, assisting with rescue, evacuation, and containment efforts.”

She paused before continuing.

“What we are about to hear will be the League’s most direct statement since the attack.”

The camera shifted again.

Superman stepped forward.

He walked to the base of the steps and stopped before the gathered crowd and reporters. Batman stood to his left, silent and stoic as ever, his expression unreadable. Wonder Woman stood to his right, her displeasure unmistakable, her posture rigid with restrained anger.

Superman looked directly into the camera.

“Today, the world was shaken,” he said. “Jump City was devastated by an act of violence that defies comprehension.”

He paused.

“Millions of lives were lost. Families were erased. And for that… there are no words that can offer comfort.”

He bowed his head briefly before continuing.

“The individual responsible for this attack is the Joker.”

Murmurs rippled through the crowd.

“He has been apprehended and is once again in custody,” Superman continued. “For security reasons, there are details that cannot be made public at this time. But I promise you this—the threat responsible for today’s tragedy has been contained.”

Batman’s eyes shifted toward him, just for a moment.

“To those who lost loved ones,” Superman said, his voice steady but heavy, “I offer my deepest condolences. And to those still waiting for answers,still hoping.7Know that we are not giving up. Rescue operations are ongoing, and they will continue as long as there is even a single life to be saved.”

He straightened.

“I swear this on my life.”

With that, Superman took off into the sky, a blur of red and blue heading toward Jump City.

Reporters immediately swarmed Batman and Wonder Woman, questions overlapping but neither answered.

Lois stepped back into frame.

“This has been Superman, speaking live from the Hall of Justice,” she said. “Many questions still remain, and the answers may shape what comes next. This is Lois Lane of the Daily Planet, bringing you this report live.”

The feed then paused.

Lex Luthor sat motionless before the massive screen in his penthouse, Superman’s image frozen in mid-speech.

“I swear this on my life,” the words repeated.

“There it is,” Lex muttered. “The biggest deception of all. Saving people just enough that they never learn to save themselves. He’s turned humanity into livestock waiting, praying, hoping that everything something goes wrong he will swoop in and fix it. If he hadn’t come to our planet, we would have adapted by now, instead of building statues and glorifying him.”

He leaned closer to the screen, eyes narrowing. “And now look at them. A madman wipes a city off the map, and what do they do? They wait for him eagerly, to tell them everything will be fine.”

Lex scoffed as Mercy chimed in. “Well, they don’t have a choice at this point. But the people’s over-reliance on Superman and his team is jarring. Even professionals,people paid to stop individuals like the Joker,have gone soft. They just wait for the League to arrive, while they run damage control.”

She paused, a faint smirk forming. “That said, there are upsides. Darkseid would have succeeded if they weren’t around.”

Luthor nodded. “Of course there are upsides. But they’re clearly useless when the downsides outweigh them. And my point is,people don’t need words of comfort or cheap promises. They need tangible help: houses, supplies, basic necessities.”

“Which is where I come in,” Lex said smoothly.

Mercy raised an eyebrow. “You almost sound humanitarian. A good way to use those robots you’ve been building up,admittedly, that was starting to worry me. So whatever you’re planning can’t be that bad.”

Lex chuckled,”Negative thinking, Mercy. Always assuming the worst.”

He turned fully to her, eyes glinting. “Is it so hard to believe that I might actually want to help?”

“You said might, which means you’re not doing it out of goodness from the bottom of your heart. So yes, I very much find it hard to believe,” she replied calmly.

“You know me too well,” he said, turning back to stare out the window. “Elections are approaching, and I’ve always wondered… how I would do as president.”

Mercy smirked. “So that’s where your game is at.”

“Maybe… maybe not. Who knows? Only time will tell,” Lex said with a smirk.

——

Hours later

Max’s House

In the living area, Wonder Woman sat on the couch beside Thena, who quietly sipped her tea, calm and composed despite everything that had happened.

“Thank you again,” Diana said softly, breaking the silence. “For saving them… both of them.”

Nina waved it off dismissively. “It wasn’t a problem.”Besides,they’re my nieces. I’d never let anything happen to them.”

She then grew more serious. “Tell me,what was Joker’s intention with this attack? It felt targeted. At Max… or rather, at the people close to him.”

Diana exhaled slowly. “I’m not entirely sure. But I think he wanted to provoke a reaction from Max. A violent one. Triggering World War Three may have been part of it as well.”

“So that was his plan,” Nina said thoughtfully.

After a moment, Diana asked quietly, “What do you think would have happened if he had succeeded? Would Joker have gotten what he wanted from Max?”

Nina didn’t answer immediately bur thought for a while before responding.

“Most likely,” she said, “if what he wanted was for Max to cleanse the world of the filth he believes plagues it. That would force people,you and your caped freinds included,to try to stop him.”

Her eyes hardened slightly.

“And at that point Max wouldn’t hesitate. Anyone who stands in his way…”

She paused.

“would die.”

“And I would help him, after beheading Joker myself,” Nina said calmly. “Which makes me ask you… what punishment do you believe fits what Joker has done?”

Diana didn’t answer immediately. Her expression darkened.

“He deserves to die,” she said at last. “There is no redemption for someone like him. The League may disagree, but they will not change my stance on that.”

She exhaled slowly, restraining something older and far sharper than anger.

“The only reason he still breathes is because I wasn’t the one who reached him first. So i won’t pursue the matter now, but should we ever cross paths again…”

Her voice hardened.

“…I will put him to the sword.”

Nina inclined her head slightly.

“I’m glad we’re on the same page,” she said. “And don’t worry about Joker. He’ll get what’s coming to him.”

Diana glanced at her. “Are you planning to kill him?”

“As of now, no,” Nina replied. “Joker has madea lot of enemies with this stunt, now there are plenty who want his head. And even if none of them succeed…”

Her gaze shifted briefly toward the darkened horizon.

“…Max certainly will when he returns and finds out what transpired here”

End of Chapter.

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