Thunder flashed, and divine power saturated the air.
Ares. Only the God of War possessed such characteristics—and the strength to knock Diana down with a single punch and keep her there.
Only that could explain his sudden appearance on Paradise Island, his willingness to strike so openly, and his knowledge of the Godkiller.
He was here to kill Diana.
Because Diana was the Godkiller. Only she could possibly slay Ares.
"No—I will never let you hurt Diana!" Hippolyta screamed as she staggered upright, snatched a sword from the ground, and charged.
Jack turned his head and flicked a finger.
Divine power lanced out with a crack of thunder. Hippolyta shrieked and crashed back down.
"Mother!" Diana's fists clenched. She crouched, roared, and launched herself at him again.
From another direction, Antiope—who had been knocked down moments earlier—grabbed a sword and rushed in as well.
Bzzzt. Bzzzt.
The crackling in the air grew louder, more rapid, building toward something immense.
Infinite Superposition. Tenfold.
"Stay down."
Jack's voice boomed across the beach as blinding light erupted from his body, so bright the sun seemed to dim. Divine power and thunder rippled outward in all directions with him at the center.
Diana and Antiope were blasted away instantly.
Thud. Thud.
They hit the ground and went limp.
The sea itself recoiled, monstrous waves surging outward before crashing back down. The cliffs along the shoreline collapsed—but the shockwave didn't stop there. It swept inland, tearing into Paradise Island itself.
Dust swallowed more than half the sky. In the distance, buildings crumbled, and screams echoed one after another.
After a long time, the tremors finally subsided.
From where Jack stood, roughly a third of Paradise Island had been flattened.
"This feeling..."
He looked down at his hands, still flickering with residual divine power.
"...is amazing."
The euphoria—the violent, intoxicating urge to destroy everything—was overwhelming.
No wonder Hippolyta never wanted to tell Diana the truth about her identity. Without unshakable conviction, this kind of power would corrode anyone who wielded it.
That was probably why the old Olympian gods had all acted so erratically, so incomprehensibly. The power itself bred madness.
After a few moments, the haze faded. Jack's thoughts sharpened, and clarity returned.
He raised his head and surveyed the devastation: the shattered cliffs, the ruined beach, the Amazons scattered across the ground like discarded dolls.
The Legends were going to regret leaving him here.
The time aberration with the Birds of Prey hadn't even been resolved yet—and now they had an even bigger one on their hands.
Then again, Paradise Island was isolated from the world. Whatever happened here shouldn't affect the outside. The only thing that mattered was Wonder Woman—Diana, who was destined to leave this island with Steve Trevor someday and defeat the God of War.
Jack found Diana, Antiope, and Hippolyta among the debris on the beach.
Antiope was badly injured. The other two had simply been knocked unconscious.
Of course, under the impact of that divine shockwave, their armor had been torn to shreds.
And beneath the armor, following the ancient warrior traditions of the Amazons...
"No wonder Hercules enslaved them in the comics instead of killing them outright."
Jack muttered the observation as arcs of electricity crackled to life at his fingertips. The current twisted into bindings that wrapped around all three women, and he dragged them toward the interior of the island.
By the time he reached the Amazonian settlement, half the buildings had already been reduced to rubble by the earlier shockwave.
"Who goes there?"
"It's the Queen—"
"And the General! And Diana!"
Amazons emerged from the wreckage, spotting Jack and the three bound figures he was hauling behind him. Some froze in shock. Others grabbed weapons and charged, determined to rescue their leaders.
Jack didn't slow down.
As they rushed him, bolts of electricity and divine power lashed out from his body.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
One by one, they dropped along the path of his advance.
He stepped over them and kept walking. Ahead, a squad of guards was sprinting toward him.
"Release them!" The woman at the front of the formation shouted, sword raised.
Jack stopped. "What's your name?"
"Menalippe. Deputy General of Paradise Island."
"Go save your people, Menalippe. If you're lucky, some of them might still be alive." He tilted his head. "Try to stop me, and your Queen dies. Your General dies. Everyone on this island dies." A pause. "Including the island itself."
He stamped his foot.
Divine power surged into the earth.
A crack split the ground from where his heel landed, racing toward Menalippe and her guards with a deep, grinding roar.
Menalippe steadied herself as the tremor passed, her expression torn between fury and calculation. She watched Jack continue his unhurried walk toward the palace.
Her jaw tightened.
"...Save the wounded first," she ordered. "Go."