On the way, Clark, who had flown out of Earth in worry, breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing David unharmed.
"Are you alright, David? That explosion really scared me!" he asked, still worried, casting a lingering glance in the direction of Captain Atom's explosion. His super-vision allowed him to see the massive energy trails left between planets, like an exploded nebula that swept across thousands of miles. "If it had exploded on Earth, it's entirely possible that the North American continent would have been blown to pieces."
"Don't worry, killing me isn't that easy."
David and Clark returned to the original site of the Justice League headquarters. The island, now molten lava, had sunk into the sea.
"The headquarters have been destroyed," Flash said dejectedly.
"It's okay, we can rebuild," Hal Jordan said with a smile, patting his shoulder. He then glanced at Firestorm and Element Girl, "With Firestorm and Element Girl's help, I believe reconstruction will be very quick, and it won't cost much."
"Transcendent is back," Hawkgirl called out.
Everyone looked up at the sky. David, appearing unharmed, descended from the heavens. Major Force's face was a mask of shock and terror.
"Even an attack like that didn't kill you!"
"Where's Captain Atom?" Extreme Pain asked blankly.
"He's been atomized, scattered across the universe," David replied coldly. He extended his hand, and a powerful gravity beam restrained Major Force.
"What are you doing? You can't kill me!" Major Force, snatched from Batman's grasp telekinetically, felt suffocated and terrified as David grabbed his neck, his cold face inches away. He struggled. "I'm a specially appointed field agent by the President. Killing me would be provoking the President and the White House."
"The President?" David's palm tightened, and Major Force's thick, metallic neck made a sickening grinding sound as it was twisted and bent at an unnatural angle. Unlike Major Force, Captain Atom possessed the ability to reassemble his own atoms and control inorganic matter; in other words, he had no healing factor. To everyone's astonishment, he was killed outright.
"He was sent by the President, after all. Is it really okay for us to kill him like this?" Green Lantern asked, somewhat surprised. While it wasn't the first time he'd seen Transcendent execute a supervillain, this situation felt different. The perpetrator wasn't an alien from outer space, nor a civilian ambitious schemer.
"Didn't you say you're a cosmic policeman, that the entire galaxy is your jurisdiction?" David retorted with a smile. Major Force's corpse's eyes and mouth leaked a dangerous glow, like a nuclear bomb about to detonate. David, with no change in his expression, used a gravity slingshot to send the body out of Earth's atmosphere. Unlike Major Force's self-detonation that could be seen across half the planet, Major Force was just like a large nuclear bomb.
After a flash of light in the sky, Hal Jordan awkwardly scratched his face. Before becoming a member of the Green Lantern Corps, he had been one of the best pilots in the U.S. Air Force. Because of his deep understanding, like other servicemen, he held a unique reverence for the government and the White House. His previous words were just him speaking his mind; he hadn't truly believed he had jurisdiction over the galaxy, and he doubted the White House would even pay him any mind.
"Once the most powerful force of violence on Earth is set in motion, whether it's targeting one person or a group, the power unleashed is not to be underestimated." Batman emerged from the opened cockpit of the Fenrir Mech, his brow furrowed. "Like the location of the Alliance headquarters, it might be hidden from ordinary people, but if the White House wants to investigate, finding the exact location would only take minutes."
"Our identities..." He didn't need to say more; everyone understood what he meant, and their expressions changed. Besides their superhero identities, everyone had families. They were the anchors of their emotions and also their weaknesses. Flash's father was in prison serving a sentence; Aquaman's father was a retired lighthouse keeper; Element Girl's father was the owner of a chemical group. Green Lantern's parents were deceased, but he had a girlfriend. Batman had been an orphan from a young age, but he still had his soft spot, his butler Alfred... They were all ordinary people. Forget superpowered individuals sent by the White House; even a special forces team could easily capture them.
The atmosphere suddenly became heavy. Even Clark wasn't sure if his real identity would be investigated, or if his parents, Jonathan and Martha, would be implicated. He looked at his brother.
"David..."
"Don't worry, that guy in the White House will soon be a thing of the past." David's expression was cold as he looked in the direction of the White House, his words startling everyone, causing them to look up at him sharply.
Green Lantern and Flash, along with a few others, were stunned speechless. They all understood what David meant.
"I... I didn't hear anything."
Extreme Pain raised her hands in panic, signaling surrender.
Besides the Justice League members present, she was the only outsider. As a member of the task force sent by the White House, was this something she should be hearing?
David's gaze shifted to her, making her even more flustered and fearful, cold sweat beading on her forehead.
Although Extreme Pain's abilities offered strong self-preservation, the Transcendent before them was Earth's most powerful super-powered individual. He had even killed the formidable Captain Atom.
She wasn't sure her own abilities would be effective.
"Let her go, David. She was also coerced by the White House," Clark quickly said.
"Do I look like a bloodthirsty person?"
David recalled how Extreme Pain had slacked off during the previous group attack.
"I could say that before, but you're currently planning to kill the President," Clark said, his lips tightly pursed.
The thought was genuinely terrifying: to kill the president of the most powerful nation on Earth, the most powerful person in the world.
"Don't spout nonsense. When did I say I was going to kill the President?"
David smiled.
"Remember, the presidential election is coming up in four years. His approval ratings aren't optimistic, and his chances of reelection are slim. He'll naturally become a thing of the past then."
Listening to his explanation, everyone exchanged glances, not believing him one bit. This was completely out of character for the Transcendent, but everyone remained silent.
Superheroes also had their own selfish interests, especially when the safety of their families was involved.
A heinous rapist and murderer like Major Force could be pardoned by the President and appointed as an official superhero to deal with supervillains across America.
Everyone's perception of the President had dropped to an all-time low.
They weren't children and understood how cold-blooded and dirty politicians were.
The earth-shattering battle concluded. The White House sent the newly announced Super Task Force to apprehend the Justice League, which ended with Captain Atom's defeat and death at David's hands. Major Force was subdued by Batman and Clark working together.
The immediate crisis had passed, but it was regrettable that the island housing the League's headquarters had been sunk by the residual forces from the battle between David and Captain Atom.
"I will choose a more secluded and secure location to rebuild our headquarters. In the meantime, everyone will support each other under Cyborg's coordination and reminders to handle crises happening around the world," Batman said finally.
Even while being pursued by the White House, the Justice League heroes would still risk their lives to protect the world.
They became superheroes not because of the official stance.
...
In the past, people learned about the actions of the Transcendent and the Justice League more through television and news reports. Few had actually experienced or witnessed them firsthand.
But this time was different. Captain Atom's self-detonation had blinded half the planet temporarily due to the intense light, plunging the world into darkness.
The number of people paying attention was unprecedented.
When everyone learned the full story from the Justice League's official website and the information disclosed by Cyborg, widespread discussions erupted globally.
"It's outrageous. The heroes have saved the world multiple times, and this is how America repays them?"
Apart from a tiny minority who believed the Justice League also had fault, there were countless people supporting the Justice League. People worldwide were vociferously condemning the actions, not just because the matter was clear-cut, but because these dangerous actions also affected them.
Some of them had already been affected and persecuted by America's insane actions!
"Can America reduce its egocentric attitude? The world isn't America's private property. If America doesn't welcome the Justice League's activities, other countries in the world would gladly accept them."
"The scale of the explosion when Captain Atom died was unprecedented for humanity, enough to put the North American continent at risk of splitting apart. Does the US President even know the danger of such actions!"
"If the Transcendent hadn't risked his own safety to drag Captain Atom into outer space, the cries of hundreds of millions would be heard on Earth today!"
"The actions of superheroes are against the law. Why didn't America arrest them when they were saving the world? Where were Captain Atom and the others when the world faced crises before?"
"..." People worldwide expressed intense protests and condemnation. While some might have considered the legality of the Justice League's actions complex, very few believed America was in the right.
...
In the woods outside the Kent Farm in Smallville.
David wasn't paying attention to the clamor of online discussions. In just two days, Hyperion's template had completely merged with him, and now the system was loading the fifth template.
[Loading fifth template...]
[Loading 2%... 8%... 14%...]
David's eyes gleamed with unconcealable anticipation.
"If nothing goes wrong, it should be a template more powerful than Hyperion!"
Once he had preliminarily merged with the new template, he could start dealing with the White House.
"What needs to be done is more than just making someone disappear," David's eyes narrowed slightly.
The existence of superheroes, a group possessing myriad strange abilities and immense power, was always destined to be feared by the White House.
He wanted to kill the President of the United States. For him, it was no harder than breathing.
"But if it's just a change of president, things might not get better. And if the US President targets the Justice League, and then is assassinated shortly after, the situation might become even worse."
So, he not only had to deal with the US President but also needed to put a favorable candidate in that position, solving the problem once and for all.
"As for who to choose as the next US President."
David's lips curved into a smile.
"Father has always been warm-hearted. Now that the farm isn't needed for a livelihood, he seems to have some free time. He helps out here and there in town.
Now, there's an opportunity for him to physically help more people. He… he probably won't refuse, right?"
[Fifth template has finished loading.
Phoenix Force Sian template is merging… 1%… 2%…]
"Phoenix Force?"
The system's voice interrupted David's thoughts. As his gaze fell upon the loaded system template, his spirit was invigorated.
What did he see?
"Sian?"
Setting aside the renowned Phoenix Force, he was also familiar with the latter.
"The name Sian isn't well-known in the Marvel multiverse. He only made a fleeting appearance, causing the Mad Titan considerable trouble, and now he has ended Thanos.
The key is his other identity is very special—Thanos's biological son!"
Before Thanos left Titan and grew into the terrifying Lord of the Black Order that struck fear into the hearts of cosmic beings, he had a period of confused wandering as a space pirate, searching for the meaning of his birth and existence.
During that time, he drifted with the space pirates. Wherever they went, he became involved with many women across the cosmos, fathering offspring.
But later, when the Goddess of Death appeared and Thanos proved his love for her, he embarked on a path of slaughtering his former lovers and his own bloodline.
Countless mothers and children who hoped to see him again faced his raised, cold cleaver when they met him again.
"In the end, only one descendant of Thanos survived. A son born to Thanos and an Inhuman woman, his name was Sian."
Solely to find and kill Sian, Thanos descended upon the Inhumans with full force, battling Black Bolt and demanding the Inhuman registry. Simultaneously, he had his subordinates, the Black Order, invade Earth.
His body gradually grew warm, his left hand emitting a dangerous, deep purple light, while his right hand blazed with a mysterious, solidified orange radiance. David's mind recalled information about Sian, primarily his strength and abilities.
"Just as Thanos was born surpassing his father, the Titanian leader Aralus, Sian's potential and abilities also surpassed Thanos.
During the Black Order's search for Sian, Sian awakened his powers. Upon finding Sian, Black Bolt immediately betrayed his allegiance and submitted to him, and when Sian met Thanos, he subdued him with a single blow."
Terrifying energy surged through his cosmic bloodline. David raised a finger, and a deep purple light, as if representing ultimate death, shot out, striking a row of trees.
The tall trees completely disintegrated into ash, vanishing from the world.
With another flick of his finger, the stones in the forest were decomposed into atoms. The terrifying destructive power even surpassed his heat vision.
If he had possessed this ability when battling Captain Atom before, he wouldn't have needed so many attacks to cause Captain Atom's body to collapse.
"My left hand is Death!"
He whispered, then raised his right hand.
An orange light shot out. A sparrow flying overhead in the forest fell from the sky. An orange, translucent cube appeared, its flight frozen. It was as if it were sealed in eternal amber, or as if time had been captured and paused.
"My right hand is worse than death!"
The power in his right hand was even stronger. Sian used this very move to defeat his old father, the Mad Titan, who struck fear into countless people.
"But that's not the main point!"
David's pupils widened with excitement, his expression fervent. He had expected the fifth template to be stronger than Hyperion, but he hadn't anticipated such a great surprise.
The main point was the first four words of this template.
"—The Phoenix Force, chaotic yet immortal, eternal yet ever-changing, representing life and destruction!"
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