While Su Ming was busy dealing with the magic crisis, and Batman was occupied coordinating global affairs, Luthor naturally wasn't idle either.
His plan was also underway.
From Aiyu Island, he dispatched Cheetah and Black Manta, with a mission to kill Poseidon.
Originally, a god couldn't be killed; they could reincarnate.
But with Luthor's team previously finding a drop of the Tear of Extinction in the underwater structure, things were different.
According to Luthor's understanding, it was part of the concept of 'death' in the DC World. It wasn't a magic potion but rather a liquefied cosmic concept.
Of course, it had connections with the 'death' from the Endless Clan. It was her, but she wasn't it.
It sounded like a tongue-twister, but it didn't matter to Luthor as long as he knew this thing could slay gods.
By smearing it on a weapon, a hit on a god marked them for death. Once they're killed afterward, their existence would be erased from the Multiverse, wiped out directly from the concept.
Luthor had seen the Troublemaker's eraser, capable of erasing a person out of thin air. The Tear of Extinction was like correction fluid.
Its effects were similar, but more controllable.
But one drop of the Tear of Extinction wasn't enough for the grand plan, so Luthor had identified where to find more; they were stored in the Tomb of the Gods, and the key was in Poseidon's possession.
Cheetah and Black Manta's task was to seize the key and retrieve several items from the tomb.
Execution of the 'third day' of the Destruction Plan.
Following 'God said let there be light' and 'God said let there be stars', on the third day God said, 'Let the seas and lands be separated'.
Luthor's current goal was to do the opposite, to merge the seas and lands once again.
....................
Canada, Newfoundland.
By the sea here, there's a small fishing village with only one street, a row of wooden houses, and a lighthouse.
Backed by mountains and forests, it's sparsely populated, leading a peaceful and serene life.
This isn't a place where important shipping routes pass through, except for some fishing boats whose sailors might stop here to rest, there's hardly ever any strangers.
The gentle moonlight at night spilled over the sea, and seagulls skimmed over the calm waters, waiting for the night-fishing boats to return so they could steal some fish.
And the people at the dock were waiting for the boats too.
Fishing, processing, transporting to the city to sell - that's their livelihood.
They watched the silver sea, waiting for the fishing boat to dock on the other end of the radio.
But in the darkness, they only saw a white line, like an arrow slicing through the water, heading towards the shore.
The speed was too fast, exceeding that of a fully loaded fishing boat, even surpassing the fastest speedboat they knew.
"Do you believe him?" Cheetah squatted at the bow of the black vehicle, which had surfaced and was bounding forward over the sea at stunning speed.
Black Manta, who was steering, didn't answer her. He knew the 'him' Cheetah referred to was Luthor.
But Black Manta didn't care about Luthor's promises. His goal was to kill Atlanteans, and he joined the Destruction Legion simply because having allies was better than having none.
"Three seconds to dock." He just informed Cheetah of this.
"Damn it, you haven't answered my question yet."
The underwater craft surged onto the wooden dock, smashing it to pieces. Black Manta and Cheetah leapt off its sides, lunging towards the dockworkers.
The red energy beams fired from Black Manta's helmet visor turned a worker, who tried to escape, into a puddle of black ashes. He raised the fish spear gun in his hand towards those still alive.
"A captain called himself Proteus. Tell us where he is. The first person to speak will live, the others will not."
Water was still dripping from his black suit. The workers were thoroughly terrified by the heap of ashes.
"Over there! That lighthouse is his home!" One worker pointed them to the answer, terror on his face but a glimmer of hope in his eyes, "I was the first to speak, right? I can live, right?"
Black Manta turned to look at the red and white lighthouse rising among the distant rocks, with its light continuously rotating.
"Thank you," he said.
"Can I go now?" The worker asked him.
Yet a beam was fired from Black Manta's visor, sweeping the area and killing all the workers present.
Their bones, or whatever else, dispersed swiftly with the night wind by the sea.
Black Manta cracked his neck and nonchalantly told Cheetah, "Trusting others is a foolish act. That's my answer."
Cheetah's tail curled and uncurled as she twisted her way towards the lighthouse with Black Manta.
It was by believing Diana's nonsense that she suffered grave humiliation from the female warrior. Joining the Destruction Legion now was because she no longer wanted to believe others.
Black Manta drew his knife, his weapon also smeared with Tear of Extinction. The large drop of black liquid was applied on his blade and Cheetah's claws.
"Luthor promised me I could kill every Atlantean with my own hands, and I need to see it myself to believe it, Cheetah. That's my wish, but I want to transcend their divine power with my mortal form before the destruction."
"Ha," Cheetah chuckled. Black Manta's objectives were too complicated.
He wanted to kill all the Atlanteans and also sought power surpassing theirs.
Pursuing transcendence? Seems like he chose the wrong side.
Black Manta didn't care about Cheetah's attitude. They were just taking action together, not comrades in arms.
"We've already sent the signal, and the legends say a mysterious creature will rise and bring us what we desire. This is my great opportunity to obtain that power." He strode towards the lighthouse, leaving a trail of wet footprints, "If I can gain that power, I'll be satisfied... and if I can't, I'll figure another way, kick Luthor aside, and work on my own."
Cheetah ignored him. Her feline eyes saw the distant situation in the dark; a figure was frantically fleeing on the boardwalk leading to the rocky lighthouse.
"That's him!"
Cheetah sprinted, leaving Black Manta far behind in just 0.1 seconds.
Cheetah was known as the 'Speedster who isn't a Speedster'. She relied on her body's explosive power to reach astonishing speeds without using Divine Speed.
"No, it can't be." The figure glanced back, clearly surprised at Cheetah's speed.
He ran faster, as if intending to get something from the lighthouse.
"Don't run, old man." Almost instantly, Cheetah pounced on him from behind, laughing maniacally, "You can't escape from Cheetah's grasp."
With that, she raised her claw and slashed it ferociously across the throat of the person she tackled.
The fallen was an elderly man with long white hair and a beard. He looked at Cheetah in terror, but the destruction of his trachea and throat only allowed a hissing sound to escape.
"Curious, aren't you? Why your divine tricks don't work anymore?" Cheetah raised her claw, showing her nails to the old man, with the black liquid emitting a ghostly blue glow, "My claws are soaked with the Tear of Extinction, hence no more self-healing, no more illusions, no more gods!"
Cheetah let Poseidon bleed, laughing heartily. He was just the beginning of Olympus's downfall; she would kill these pseudo-gods one by one to see Diana's reaction.
Diana didn't like the gods, no matter what kind. She was always respectful but kept her distance, though she particularly disliked the members of Olympus and sometimes barely hid it.
So Cheetah was very curious about what expression young Queen Diana would have after she helped her kill one of Olympus's main gods?
Would it be joy? Or anger?
"Did you hear the call of the Tomb of the Gods? It's in these waves. Come on, Poseidon, let your broken body guide us; the world will submerge!"