"Diana?" Lilah's voice pitched with surprise.
"Number Three."
Jack vaulted from the Aerie onto the pier in one clean motion.
"Looks like Diana's in trouble." Lilah turned to Laurie. "Stay on the ship. Valentina, we're going to help."
"On whose authority? Where even is this? I want to go back to the Soviet Union—back to my time!" Valentina's voice cracked with fury.
"You don't get a choice."
Lilah's palm struck before Valentina could react. The merge was instant—flames erupted, and Firestorm rose into the air, landing beside Jack on the pier.
"Lilah?" Diana stared at the blazing figure. "What happened to you?"
Jack laughed.
The sound drew everyone's attention.
"Planning a family reunion?" He gestured at the trio standing with Diana. A rugged man cradled an infant in his arms. One of the two women wore jeans, a T-shirt, and an open flannel—casual, practical. The other had her blonde hair pinned up, a pink strapless gown hugging her figure, radiating aristocratic poise.
"Lennox, the demigod—that's the name, right?" Jack pointed at the rugged man, then at the flannel-wearing woman. "And you... name escapes me. One of Zeus's conquests, though. Gave birth to little Zeke there—the bundle he's holding."
His gaze shifted to the blonde in the gown. "Now here's the interesting one. Queen Hera. One of the Twelve Olympians. Highest status in your little circle." His smile sharpened. "I believe I mentioned to Eris that I'd fuck my way through your pantheon. Remember that?"
Hera's expression flickered.
Jack turned to the opposing pair.
The man stood at least two meters tall—raw muscle and scar tissue, shirtless beneath primitive armor and a ragged cape, sword in hand. The woman beside him wore a hooded jacket, nothing remarkable except the metallic gleam at her throat where flesh should have been.
"Firstborn. First child of Zeus and Hera. Prophecy says you'll climb over divine corpses to claim your father's throne." He nodded toward the hooded woman. "Cassandra. Former demigod. Had the power of the Word until your adopted brother Lennox ripped out your throat. Now you survive on machinery."
He rattled off their identities like reading from a catalog, then turned back to Diana. "How'd you end up with this crowd? Where's Donna Troy?"
Diana's gaze cut involuntarily toward Hera. Her voice went flat. "After we separated, Donna returned to Themyscira ahead of me. Hera turned every Amazon into snakes—Donna included. My mother became a statue."
"So kill her."
"No." Diana shook her head. "Apollo claimed Zeus's throne and stripped Hera of her divinity. I need her power restored to undo what she did."
Hope flickered across her face. "Could you—"
Jack gestured toward the Aerie wedged against the dock. Said nothing.
Diana's expression fell.
"Enough."
Cassandra's synthetic voice cut through the tension. "Hand over my baby brother."
"Never." Diana's stance hardened.
"Then we fight." Firstborn's voice scraped like gravel. He advanced toward Lennox. "Starting with you. I'll kill every one of you and take what's mine."
"Been waiting for this." Lennox passed the infant to the flannel-wearing woman, rolled his shoulders, and launched a punch at Firstborn's jaw.
Crack.
Firstborn's fist connected first. Lennox staggered back, shaking off the blow, ready to continue—
A flash of steel.
Thud.
Lennox's head hit the ground. His body followed a second later, flesh hardening to stone as he fell.
"Lennox!"
Diana hadn't expected it—an instant kill. Lennox's body was supposed to be harder than rock. He had no offensive gifts, but his durability should have bought him something.
Light blazed from her bracers. Twin swords materialized in her hands, and she launched at Firstborn like a missile.
Clang. Clang. Clang.
Steel screamed against steel.
"Equipment upgrade?" Jack watched with mild interest. "Hephaestus's work, I assume." He drifted toward Hera. "So. How's mortality treating the Queen of Heaven?"
"Poorly." Hera's tone could have frozen the harbor.
"You earned it," the flannel-wearing woman spat.
Hera's head snapped toward her. "What did you say, you miserable little—"
"I said you earned it, you vindictive bitch."
They squared off, foreheads nearly touching. If the circumstances had been different, fists would already be flying.
"Firstborn's strong." Lilah's flames flickered with anticipation. "Shouldn't we help Diana?"
"Feel free to die." Jack shrugged. "He's probably the most powerful of the Old Gods. None of the Olympians can match him—Zeus included. Even ordinary New Gods would kneel. Seven thousand years of hatred, clawing his way up from the Earth's core inch by inch. Seven thousand years. Imagine what that does to someone."
His voice dropped. "The Nameless God. Destroyer of souls. That's the true God Killer."
Lilah went quiet. In her mind, she relayed what she knew to Valentina.
"How do you know all this?" Hera studied Jack with fresh wariness.
"I also know you'll get your powers back eventually." He said it like commenting on the weather. "Barring accidents."
"What accidents?"
"My mood."
"Your... mood?"
Jack offered nothing else. Hera swallowed whatever she wanted to say and tried a different angle. "You're not going to help Diana? She's practically your woman."
"If I asked Diana to pose for a photo," Jack said to Lilah, "would she agree?"
Lilah hesitated. "Given her personality... probably not."
"Then we wait a little longer."