Faced with Old Batman's questioning, Thea made it clear she wasn't taking the blame. Not only would she refuse to shoulder it—she was throwing it right back at him.
She let out a cold laugh. "Don't you dare tell me Earth's military is ready. You mentioned two hundred thousand troops before. Have even twenty thousand actually reached Gotham? The way I see it, they'll need at least another month before they can deploy."
Batman looked somewhat embarrassed. Earth's military had indeed been slow to mobilize. The various leaders couldn't even agree among themselves, and there were subtle hints that they wanted Thea's forces to spearhead the assault.
Honestly, Batman found this kind of political calculation nauseating. But that was the reality, and he couldn't explain it away. He could only retreat awkwardly.
Thea, for her part, couldn't care less. The moment politicians—those glorious and noble professionals—entered the war, battles stopped being about who was stronger and started being about who was worse. History had proven countless times that the less incompetent side always beat the more incompetent one.
Distrust me? Fine by me. I'll just keep lounging at home! I'm certainly not in a hurry.
The New Gods' marathon competition grew larger in scale, with more participants joining each day. Even several speedsters from Earth-2—heroes and villains alike—got swept up in it. Zoom finally faced off against the Flash. With Barry's trump cards still hidden, he was beaten senseless by the drug-enhanced Zoom. In the end, he barely managed to drive Zoom back with help from Alan Scott, that unconventional Green Lantern.
DeSaad could bear it no longer and deployed his ace—Superman! The fully corrupted Evil Superman joined the battle, crushing Earth's assembled heroes like they were nothing. Had Khalid, wearing the Helmet of Fate, not witnessed Hawkgirl in mortal peril and unleashed a desperate surge of magical power, the heroes might have been completely annihilated.
Thanks to their delaying tactics, Thea finally completed her fusion on the twenty-fifth day after obtaining the New Source.
If godhood was like a water tank, then divine power was the water within. Thea had gone from two tanks to three!
And this new tank was enormous! By conservative estimates, her strength had doubled from before.
Based on Thea's calculations, Highfather and Darkseid each possessed roughly ten ordinary divine positions, or perhaps five high-tier positions like Soul. Meanwhile, ordinary New Gods had only one or two positions. Take Thea's previous Trade and Wealth, for example, or the Skymother from the Council of Nine, whose domains were Wind and Tracking. Both were rare dual-position holders.
Now that she'd obtained the Soul domain, a position of higher tier than ordinary godhoods—one that might equal two or three regular positions—her power had unquestionably surpassed all New Gods except the two supreme beings.
The only thing limiting her now was divine power itself. Having a tank without water was useless, and this particular tank had high standards—you couldn't just pour any liquid into it.
Unfortunately, she hadn't yet delivered the Shazam gift package to Billy Batson, and she lacked any method to convert divine power. That shortcut was temporarily unavailable.
Seeing that she still had some time, she left a projection on Earth-2 and returned to Earth to find her old friend, Charon the Ferryman of the Styx.
The solitary old man nearly lost his mind when he first saw her. Thea had to repeat herself several times before he came back to his senses, still shaken.
"Charon, my old friend, I'm just going to stay by the Styx for a few days. I won't interfere with your business." Thea smiled brightly. The surging souls in the River Styx were pure nourishment. They were just sitting there going to waste anyway—might as well benefit her instead.
Who's your friend?! The old ferryman had suffered enough because of her. Word had it that Hades spent every day in his chambers sharpening his blade, just waiting for a chance to kill him and vent his rage.
But Charon couldn't voice his grievances. He could only depart alone, pretending not to see Thea converting divine power by the riverbank.
Thea filtered through the countless souls that had languished there for ages. Those with self-awareness she left alone for now. Those who had long since lost coherent thought she converted without hesitation into soul essence, then condensed into divine power.
Midway through, she paid a visit to the brothers Death and Sleep. She had to admit their perception was sharp—they seemed to sense that Thea had obtained the Soul domain.
The divine positions of New Gods differed somewhat from the domains of Old Gods, but the two brothers still made an effort to strengthen their relationship with her.
On the twenty-eighth day after obtaining the New Source, her new tank finally held a thin layer of water.
The impurities in ordinary human souls were simply too numerous. Thea filtered and sifted, again and again. After calculating her combat consumption, she stopped absorbing more and returned to Earth-2, preparing for the upcoming great battle.
Thanks to Orion's desperate support, they finally managed to "rescue" Mister Miracle and his companion back to Gotham—though Thea suspected they might not have wanted to be rescued.
"Your Highness Scott, I am Thea Queen, Legion Commander of the Mage Legion. Welcome to my base of operations." She showed proper courtesy to this biological son of Highfather.
Mister Miracle, dressed in his green cape and red bodysuit, was startled. Thea's power currently felt somewhat unstable, but while the supreme beings could see through it, these lower-tier New Gods lacked such perception.
Scott Free only felt that the woman before him radiated overwhelming pressure. She was far more powerful than that kindly grandmother Granny Goodness and her ilk.
Respect the strong. That was the only lesson he'd learned on Apokolips. Scott hastily bowed deeply to show his deference.
Big Barda—the former captain of the Female Furies, wearing her golden horned helmet, clad in scaled armor, and wielding her mega-rod—was even more drawn to power. She likewise bowed to express her position.
"Do you two need me to escort you back to New Genesis, or would you prefer to wait until the battle here concludes?"
The two had hidden right under Steppenwolf's nose for years—the most dangerous yet safest place—hoping everyone would simply forget about them and let them live in peace. But he couldn't say that. Orion had gone to tremendous lengths to rescue them, losing dozens of his elite guards in the process. They couldn't bring themselves to simply walk away.
"I—" Scott was about to speak when he noticed Thea's expression change dramatically. This woman, who had seemed so powerful to him, raised her hand and conjured a barrier.
Following her movement, the entire encampment lit up with defensive formations as brilliant as a sea of stars—layer upon layer, dense and overlapping. The formations connected earth, sky, and sea. The legion's many mages didn't know what was happening, but following their training, they channeled their magic into their assigned nodes.
A sky-blue defensive barrier rose instantly. The others were confused, not understanding what Thea was doing. Even for New Genesis, with all its resources, activating such a formation once would consume astronomical resources.
But less than a second later, they understood. In the heavens above, an enormous black fist phantom descended upon the camp, carrying the force of ten thousand tons.
"Darkseid!" The New Gods who had encountered him directly turned pale. They'd felt no warning whatsoever.
The enemy apparently hadn't expected Thea to react so quickly, but still brought his fist down without concern.
The black energy radiated despair, as if it represented the absolute limit of the word "power." BOOM! A thunderous explosion shook the earth. All of Gotham and the entire East Coast felt the might of that single punch.
The defensive barrier had risen just in time. The sky-blue shield flickered violently against that tremendous force, ultimately managing—just barely—to withstand the blow.
The Flash raced out and stared up at the barrier, now covered in spiderweb cracks, and at the iron fist that had appeared and vanished just as suddenly.
He wanted to ask what had happened, but didn't know whom to ask.
"Everyone stay alert! The second wave is coming!" Thea flew into the air and shouted down below. The World Will had been warning her continuously—that was the only reason she'd raised the barrier a step ahead.
The mages below didn't hesitate to pour their magic into the nodes, reinforcing the defense.