Darkseid withdrew his thoughts and looked down at the battle on the Oa Vanguard Shield Satellite. This was the outpost of the Guardians of the Universe's base on Oa Star, and also one of the deployment points for the Vanguard Shield. The Vanguard Shield was the last barrier of Oa Star; breaking through here would signal the cleansing of Sector 0 where Oa Star was located.
The Vanguard Shield, which once flickered day and night, had begun to dim under the endless attacks of the demon-like army. And those Lantern heroes who were supposed to protect this planet were using the power of the Emotional Spectrum to constantly attack the shield, even more frenzied than the cruel and bloodthirsty demons.
The Green Lanterns led the charge, followed closely by the Yellow Lanterns, while the Blue and Purple Lanterns were unwilling to fall behind. Even the Red Lanterns, who always played the villain, were lending a hand. Countless colorful lights flickered around Oa Star, as dazzling as neon.
In the central conference hall of Oa Star, the Guardians of the Universe were at their wits' end in discussion. The little blue people, dressed in long robes, sat around in a circular conference hall, first arguing and then fighting. Their small bodies and big heads rolled together in a heap, showing none of the previous strategizing and graceful demeanor.
"Enough!" a little blue man standing above waved his scepter forcefully and shouted, "We've made enough mistakes! This is our retribution! The only solution now is to abandon Oa Star and go back to our home. Otherwise, Darkseid will not spare us!"
"Ganthet! You coward!" another Guardian of the Universe shouted at the one above, "Why should we bow to that little punk who hasn't even grown all his hair?! When the Guardians of the Universe were developing the cosmos, his ancestors were still digging in the dirt for food!"
"Why do you never repent?!" the little blue man called Ganthet said heartbrokenly, "In order to suppress Hal Jordan, you withdrew the power of the Lantern ring at the crucial moment of his duel, which directly killed him. Not just him, in Sector 73, Sector 98, Sector 106... How many people have you killed, probably even you can't count them anymore?!"
"If you hadn't continuously forced them, how could the Lantern heroes have possibly rebelled against us? Now, instead of reflecting on your mistakes, you shirk your responsibilities and belittle Darkseid, who has fought his way here!"
Ganthet took two steps back and said, "I founded the Blue Lantern Corps, they are all my children, yet they have sacrificed for nothing because of your wrong decisions. My wife and I will never allow your ruthless and shameless behavior! I will leave here and never return!"
Having said that, he turned and left. Suddenly someone called out to him: "Wait! I will go with you."
Another little blue man dressed in a long robe walked towards Ganthet. Two people on the right glanced at each other, then stepped forward to follow Ganthet; even from a distance, others were walking towards them.
The little blue man standing in the center just opened his mouth to say something when an obviously somewhat elderly little blue man spoke: "Ganthet is right. This time you've gone too far. Hal Jordan should not have sacrificed in vain, and we will pay the price for this."
"But do we really have to give up everything on Oa Star?! This is our painstaking effort over so many years; are we going to let that damned New God benefit?!"
"If what they wanted was Oa Star, then they wouldn't still be unable to break the Vanguard Shield," the elderly little blue man said. "They want to swallow us whole. If we don't leave now, we may not be able to leave at all."
"No! We still have the final weapon!" the little blue man in the center said, "It is about to complete experimentation. As long as we take it out, they will definitely retreat!"
"You're crazy!" Ganthet turned back and cursed, "If you want to destroy the cosmos, go ahead. I can't endure this group of madmen for another second; I should never have come back!"
He quickly walked to the door, but before leaving, he said in a deep voice: "A lie repeated too many times becomes believed by yourselves. Was the Emotional Spectrum really discovered by us? Did the Power of Seven Lanterns really come from us? You think not bringing him up means he won't return? I'm telling you, this is our retribution."
After speaking, he left the conference center with about a dozen Guardians of the Universe. As his words fell, the others in the room seemed somewhat shaken or even visibly frightened.
"Could it be that he's returning?" someone asked aloud. But no one could answer him, not even the oldest Guardian of the Universe.
Ganthet, with his like-minded little blue people, boarded a small spaceship. Although they can fly, on such a chaotic battlefield, an unmarked UFO would be immediately shot down. The physical strength of the little blue people is not strong, and they don't want to get hit.
"Report, Your Majesty, a small spacecraft has taken off from the surface, should we intercept it?"
"Can you detect their communication signals?"
"Yes, he actively sent us a request. It seems he wants to talk. Do you want to answer?"
"Patch it through," Darkseid said.
"Hello, Your Majesty Darkseid," Ganthet took the lead to speak. He said, "Time is short, let's be brief. The Emotional Spectrum was not discovered by the Guardians of the Universe, nor did we invent the technology to exploit it. All of this was stolen from the First Lantern, whom we call the First Lantern. Later, the Guardians of the Universe set a trap and imprisoned him out of fear of his power. The location is not on Oa Star, but I don't know exactly where."
"What I want to tell you is, since the formation of the Lantern Corps, the Guardians of the Universe have been stealing the power of the Emotional Spectrum through the Lantern Furnace. They have withheld a lot of power and attempted to use it to create a weapon against the First Lantern. Now, the weapon engine containing all the power is at the core of Oa Star. If you push them too hard, they may blow up that big bomb."
"The solution to this bomb is to head to the Earth's core of Oa while they're not paying attention. Make sure to send a Lantern hero. Only someone with the Power of Seven Lanterns can get close there. As long as you find a way to draw out the energy from the engine core, the bomb won't explode, and you'll be safe. I believe this information is enough for you to let me go, right, Your Majesty?"
Darkseid gently twirled his fingers. This could be a conspiracy by the Little Blue People, but he was more inclined to believe it was true. Because sending a Lantern hero to verify at the risk of truth or falsehood didn't seem necessary to lie. Even if they lied, it would soon be exposed.
If what he said was true, and these Little Blue People intercepted the Power of Seven Lanterns and tried to make a weapon from it, that indeed posed a problem for them. Not to mention, Darkseid had his eyes on this planet, and losing it to an explosion would be a significant loss.
"Let them go," Darkseid said, "But send someone to follow them and see where they're heading."
At this point, the communication was still on, and Darkseid was clearly threatening Ganthet. But Ganthet didn't mind, thanked him, and left.
"Send our spies to have a look," Darkseid waved his hand and said.
After hesitating for a moment, Desaad said, "Should we keep this from Batman? If there's that much energy, we could take it ourselves..."
"What do we need the energy for?" Darkseid raised an eyebrow, "If there really is energy, give it all to Batman. All I want is the cosmos's central planet. I'm planning to move the Apocalypse Domain there."
"Even so, we don't need to make it easy for Batman..."
"Do you think he doesn't know?" Darkseid snorted, "He absolutely knows the conditions at the core of Oa and probably has a basic estimation of the energy too. He's just testing me. If I plan to keep it from him, he'll definitely set me up."
"Moreover," Darkseid paused and said, "The state of the Multiverse is complex. If he doesn't have something good to protect that little planet of his, how can he have the mind to handle other universe affairs? If that guy weren't so suspicious, I would directly persuade him to move Earth next to Apocalypse Star, at least it wouldn't be easily wiped out by some third-rate civilization."
Desaad didn't ask any more questions and bowed out. He could also understand Darkseid's thinking: within one universe, Earth is a stumbling block to Darkseid's destruction and expansion; but looking at the Multiverse, Earth and Apocalypse Star are one and the same, they belong to the same Individual Universe, they prosper and suffer together.
No matter if this Individual Universe gets better or worse, Earth and Apocalypse Star can't escape. So, for greater benefit, they can only help each other and unite against outsiders. Otherwise, let alone competing in the Multiverse, they might be destroyed by someone else in a few days.
Darkseid's idea of inviting Earth next to Apocalypse Star wasn't intended as kidnapping Earth. He was purely fed up with Batman messing with that broken planet: "Since you have the skills and ideas to conquer the Multiverse, go ahead, why pretend to be a street hero?"
The ideal state that Darkseid envisioned is: he shields Earth within the cosmos and liberates the Justice League to compete in the Multiverse.
Though Darkseid yearned to go himself, without an invitation from Battleworld, he couldn't. Moreover, he understood his greatest asset is the Apocalypse Domain, but it only works within the Individual Universe. Externally, his combat power might not even match Superman's; it's better for him to manipulate the Justice League from behind the scenes.
Batman was sitting by Green Lantern Hal's bedside when notified by Desaad. Of course, Hal wasn't dead; it was all just a show. But, to fool the many Lantern heroes, Darkseid severely injured him. Although he had mostly recovered thanks to the Green Lantern energy healing, Batman still had him rest longer.
"You damn bastard!" Green Lantern cursed.
"That's the sixth time you've said that today," Primary Universe Batman said without looking up from his paperwork.
"Yet, you've never responded once!"
"Because you're right, I am a bastard," Primary Universe Batman said and proceeded to write a message on a war report.
"At least you shouldn't have kept it from me!" Green Lantern shouted again, "Do you know how cold my heart went the moment the Green Lantern energy disappeared? At that time, I didn't even want to fight Darkseid. I just wanted to perish together with those bastards, the Guardians of the Universe!"
"Your chance has come," Primary Universe Batman said while looking at the message on the communicator. "I'm afraid you'll have to make a trip to the center of Oa. The Guardians have leeched the Power of Seven Lanterns; once you retrieve that energy, we can establish the Magical Defense Network."
"By then, Earth will have the power to protect itself, and I'll have more focus on cosmic affairs, even activities within the Multiverse. It will benefit Gotham, Earth, and our entire universe."
Green Lantern was surprised to hear a hint of anticipation in Batman's tone, something absent since the founding of the Justice League. His anger slowly dissipated, replaced by a hopefulness that began to rise in tandem with Batman's.