"Grail said the same thing — that she could sense my blood, since she was half Amazon."
"What?" Wonder Woman said in surprise.
Should he reveal his heritage—and the existence of the Amazons of Bana-Mighdall—to her?
That splinter faction of Themyscira had remained hidden for 3,000 years. It didn't feel like his place to expose them to a Themysciran.
Actually, scratch that. Screw that place.
They were a violent band of female mercenaries who had sown chaos across the Middle East for thousands of years. They propagated by kidnapping men from nearby cities, keeping them in breeding stables like livestock—summoned only when needed.
All male children were executed, while the female ones were raised in a culture of violence and warfare. Thankfully, Joseph had never seen such a side in his mother. Maybe she'd grown sick of that life too, which was why she never returned to Bana-Mighdall after Lex's contract with them ended.
He loved his mother—but that place deserved to be wiped off the map.
So Joseph revealed everything he knew. Funny how fate worked: he had distant Greek ancestry and now stood wearing a Spartan-style helmet, revealing his lineage to an Amazon.
"They're located somewhere in Egypt," Joseph finished. "Hidden behind a magical barrier."
Wonder Woman's face was frozen in shock. "Can you touch my lasso so I can verify the truth of your claims?"
"Sure." Joseph extended his arm.
Diana looked unimpressed. "Shayera has pulled that trick on me before."
"Fine," Joseph said with a smirk at being caught. Retracting the Nth metal covering his arm, he exposed his bare hand. Wonder Woman placed the Lasso of Truth on it. What she didn't know was that Nth metal flowed through his bloodstream too—so it probably wouldn't work. Still, he humored her.
"Is what you said true?"
As expected, Joseph felt no compulsion to tell the truth.
"Yes."
"But why am I only sensing Amazon blood in you now?"
Having been exposed to Order and Chaos magic, Omega Beams, and the refined Source energy of a Fatherbox, Joseph had drawn a conclusion: all those forces shared a common origin—the Source. It was partly magical in nature.
Perhaps integrating a Fatherbox, which was connected to the Source, into his nanites had amplified the divine trace of Amazon blood in him—enough for Grail and Wonder Woman to detect.
"I don't know," he said, keeping his conjecture to himself. Explaining how and why he'd merged alien technology into his body would be a chore. He withdrew his hand from the rope.
"I see," Diana murmured, deep in thought. "I feared your Amazon blood was a scheme of Circe's. My apologies, Nova."
"No worries. But what do you plan to do with this information?" Joseph asked. He'd been planning to deal with Bana-Mighdall eventually—but things kept piling up.
"I will speak to my mother first, to confirm Grail's identity. I wasn't aware that any Amazon had left Themyscira for millennia before me. Then, I will go to Egypt and end the wicked ways of our sister tribe. I cannot let the rest of the Amazons know—if Hermes finds out, he would unleash his wrath for their abandonment of the Olympian gods," Diana said.
"He's still around? Kori told me you fought Ares before, and Grail said her scythe was forged by Hades. I thought the Greek gods were confined to Olympus and had stopped meddling in mortal affairs."
"The Greek gods never left the mortal world," Wonder Woman explained. "They merely chose to limit their presence, to avoid the devastation of divine wars—and to guide rather than rule."
Guide rather than rule...
Joseph didn't know if it was narcissistic to admit, but he understood why they'd retreated. Having power most mortals could never comprehend, he too had felt the temptation to take control.
With the vast information at his disposal through Nova, the sheer stupidity of humanity was impossible to ignore—so much needless suffering, conflict, and waste.
Superman could supposedly hear cries for help across continents. How did he live with that—just ignoring suffering while pretending to be Clark Kent? Joseph couldn't tell if that was the impressive self restraint of a mortal with the powers of god or the apathy of a god pretending to be mortal.
"Alright. Let me know if you need help," Joseph said. Talking to a living historical legend with such insight into the arcane was fascinating, though things still felt awkward between them. "Are we cool now?"
"I hold no enmity toward you, Joseph," Wonder Woman said. Joseph had been referring to the present matter of him having Amazon blood but Diana seemed to take the question differently. "I only disapproved of your recklessness regarding Vanessa. Perhaps it is the warrior's blood in you—but you must learn restraint. We Amazons were created to serve as ambassadors of peace and justice.
"We have a saying among our people: 'Don't kill if you can wound; don't wound if you can subdue; don't subdue if you can pacify; and don't raise your hand at all until you've first extended it.'"
Honestly, if there were no Justice League—or anyone powerful enough to keep him in check—Joseph might have taken over the world himself. Humanity would eventually prosper, though under a tyrant's hand and at the cost of countless lives.
But he was Lex Luthor's heir and would soon control the rebranded LuthorCorp. That gave him the chance to achieve similar goals—peace through power—without as much bloodshed. And there were still the criminal empires he planned to dismantle—and quietly control.
"The world is worth saving," Wonder Woman continued. "Not because humanity deserves it, but because they are capable of good—and need saving."
As long as humans existed, so would crime and conflict. And while Joseph didn't go as far as Émile Durkheim in calling crime a sign of a healthy society, he saw its function: it reinforced social boundaries, clarified morality, and unified the law-abiding against the wicked.
It even enabled progress, signaling when society's institutions had failed—and forcing evolution.
The world was worth saving—but it also needed fixing. And control. Someone had to do it. Better him than another cabal like the Light, whose "guidance" had only produced more chaos.
"You're right," Joseph said finally. "I was immature back then. I appreciate the advice, Diana."
Her words lingered with him. The Amazon creed had merit—except when dealing with sadistic monsters like Desaad. He had no regrets about killing that one. Still, he'd try to be more lenient with lesser criminals.
Diana smiled softly. "That's what seniors are for," she said, before rising to join Green Lantern and the firefighters. D.C. was her city, after all.
With a nod, Joseph turned toward the Boom Tube.
Today had been eventful: establishing the Network, acquiring Mirror Gun and Weather Wand tech, integrating the Fatherbox, getting fried by Omega Beams, killing Desaad, and fighting Grail. That was more than enough excitement for one week.
He'd spend the rest of the day relaxing.
As he took another step, a faint ache rippled through him. That was strange—Nova usually dulled his pain receptors or healed him instantly. That should be even quicker with Fatherbox-enhanced regeneration.
'Nova, why am I not healed yet?'
//My apologies, sir. Your body is breaking down, and all resources are being diverted to maintain stability while I identify the cause.//
Joseph's mind began to come up with potential reasons: either Grail's Omega Beams had lingering effects—or killing Desaad caused unforeseen consequences. It may not be for nothing that they are called "New Gods."
Just as Zeus and his siblings overthrew Cronus and the Titans in the Titanomachy and claimed their domains, maybe his body was attempting to inherit Desaad's mantle—as the God of Torture.
'What the hell? Fine. Redirect the Boom Tube to Venus so we can analyze Desaad's body.'
//Understood.//
Joseph stepped through the Boom Tube and emerged on Venus.
Desaad's body was gone.
'Looks like Grail—or someone else—retrieved it before we could.'
//Fortunately, I collected a blood sample from Desaad when you impaled his head. I will analyze it for comparison.//
Joseph sighed. Just when he thought he'd get to rest—another problem arose.
At least he had his capable AI to help him.