Chaos, chaos everywhere.
It wasn't creeping—it had already arrived.
Every phone, every tablet, every screen on every continent now played the same broadcast. The same room. The same unblinking truth. No filters. No commentary. No network tags.
Just her.
Diana.
Standing like a silent judge beneath the open sky of that warehouse-like chamber, lasso in hand, and the President of the United States kneeling before her. No podiums. No flags. No prepared statements.
Just reinforced concrete and the world's now, most dangerous woman holding a glowing rope that looked like it served another purpose entirely.
People watched from living rooms, subways, office lobbies. Markets froze. News anchors stopped mid-sentence. Prisoners and presidents all tuned in alike.
The feed could not be taken down.
The military, in full panic, scrambled to shut it off. They contacted major corporations, begged service providers to initiate emergency kill codes—cut devices, cut browsers, cut data.
Nothing worked.
They were locked out. Just like the rest.
And so the world watched.
Diana stepped closer. Calm. Poised.
Her lasso wrapped around President Pete Ross, the golden coil tightening slightly across his chest as its glow pulsed brighter.
He shifted uncomfortably, but tried to maintain composure.
"I'll speak now," he said, voice hardened with rehearsed authority. "On behalf of my country."
Diana said nothing.
Ross looked straight into the camera.
"The United States will not negotiate under duress. This grotesque act of intimidation—against democracy itself—will not go unpunished."
His breath tightened slightly.
"If this is what Markovia has resorted to… if Arias Markovic is behind this—then I say to him directly, the world will not forget this cowardice."
Still, Diana said nothing.
She simply pulled the lasso tighter.
The rope flared.
Ross's breath caught in his throat. A tremor shook his jaw.
Then came her voice.
Cool. Controlled.
"Are you the one behind the recent act of terror on Gotham?"
Ross struggled.
But he couldn't stop the answer.
"Yes."
The word left him like a wound.
Gasps rippled across the other hostages. On screens across the world, jaws dropped. The silence was louder than any bomb.
But it was only going to get worse
Diana stepped in closer. "Give full detail," she commanded. "How. And why."
Ross's shoulders sagged as his mouth moved without resistance.
"We used a covert strike team—code blacklisted. No official record. Genetically enhanced operators borrowed from an old Cadmus project reactivated by DARPA through a shell funding loop."
He swallowed hard.
"They were instructed to spread chaos across Gotham. Create public fear. Raise meta-hostility."
The confession was mechanical now.
"And why?" Diana pressed.
Ross didn't flinch anymore.
"To frame Arias Markovic. Make him the villain. Justify preemptive action. Cut off support. Paint him as the aggressor."
His voice then cracked a little. "Strengthen global backing for our intervention. Regain control over Eastern European metahuman hubs before he consolidates them."
Diana nodded. Slowly.
"And who knew?" she asked.
This time, Ross hesitated.
The lasso pulsed again.
"Several members of the National Security Council," he muttered. "Representatives from Wayne Enterprises, pre-divestment. A PR cell from Queen Industries. Two senior members of the World Bank regulatory body. And select board members from United Pharmaceuticals."
A sharp murmur spread among the hostages. Some looked down. Some looked away.
"And what else…" Diana's voice hardened. "What else have you lied to your people about? What have you hidden from the world?"
Ross tried to resist. Tried to close his mouth.
The lasso didn't allow it.
"There was a program…" he began slowly. "To identify and capture unregistered metahuman children. Especially those trafficked into third-world regions. We allowed the operations to continue."
"Why?" Diana asked.
"For data. Power analysis. Some were sent to off-grid facilities—testing durability, control limits, remote influence."
He exhaled shakily, tears beginning to edge into his eyes.
"The same groups offered access to children for neurological alteration trials. Attempts to create programmable personalities. Black box funding."
Diana stepped closer.
Ross kept speaking.
"We also approved chemical dispersion through low-grade consumables. Vitamins. Supplements. Targeted at low-income districts. Slow sickness. Increased dependency. It strengthened pharmaceutical profits and data collection on immune degradation."
His voice was hoarse now.
"We misled the global community on famine indexes. We lied about intervention in South Sudan. We falsified the meta-kill count in the 2021 Solstice Raids."
"And we… we knew the nuclear satellite malfunction last winter wasn't a glitch."
He looked up.
Eyes bloodshot.
"Please… stop. You'll only cause anarchy if you keep this going."
Diana stared.
Then spoke with calm steel.
"I hope I do."
She turned to the camera.
"So that those watching this rise up—and burn this rot to the ground."
The feed didn't end.
Not yet.
And the world held its breath for what was to come.